Klate: Patience the key
‘Al-Ahly are not as adventurous away from home’.
At Bidvest Wits training at Sturrock Park yesterday, Daine Klate was floored by a stray elbow to the face, but the Clever Boys winger was soon back on his feet, and after applying a bit of ice, happy to carry out his media responsibilities.
The 32-year-old has certainly proved his “bouncebackability” over the years, in a glittering career that has seen him lift a swagbag of domestic trophies, including five Absa Premiership titles in a row between 2007 and 2012.
Perhaps the only real club honour missing from Klate’s CV is a continental trophy, but he did come close with Orlando Pirates in 2013, reaching the Caf Champions League final, where the Buccaneers were beaten by Egyptian giants Al-Ahly.
Pirates played Al-Ahly four times in the Champions League that year, which makes Klate the perfect man to talk about Wits’ chances of making it to the group stages of this year’s tournament, when they take on Al-Ahly tomorrow in the second leg of their final qualifier at Bidvest Stadium.
Klate was also part of the Wits side that lost 1-0 in Cairo last weekend, a narrow defeat that gives them a chance of stunning the Egyptian powerhouses on home soil.
“I know them (Al-Ahly) pretty well,” acknowledges Klate.
“Home and away they are two totally different teams. I think we gave ourselves a good chance with the away result. We would have liked to have kept a clean sheet but be that as it may, I think we have a very good chance of turning the result around.
“At home they are a bit more adventurous, trying to score a goal or two, this is how they plan, and when they come away they are totally different. They sit in, they keep their shape, and they are well-organised.
“We are going to have to be patient, keep moving them around, we must keep the ball well. The altitude can also come into play, so it is a big factor not to give the ball away, to tire them down and eventually they are bound to make mistakes.
“We must also defend properly because they are very dangerous on the break.”
While Wits want to do well in the Champions League, one gets the impression there is also a healthy dose of realism around the camp – Al-Ahly are extremely tough opponents, and it cannot be regarded as a disaster if they do go out.
Pirates’ coach in 2013, Roger de Sa, has said he believes Wits have a stronger squad than Bucs did back then, but Klate makes the point that the Clever Boys need to attain more domestic success be- fore they can talk about winning the continent’s biggest club prize.
“If I think about it with Pirates (reaching the 2013 final), we had already conquered the league and won cups in South Africa. Wits still need to conquer the league and win more cups (the Clever Boys did win the 2016 MTN8, with Klate scoring two goals).
“Sundowns have done it at home and went on to win the Champions League, so we have to conquer at home before we can think too big. We have a strong squad, with good depth, but we haven’t achieved anything yet.”