SuperSport calm ahead of the storm

SuperSport United assistant coach Kiatano Tembo (left) will continue holding the fort tonight when the Pretoria side take on Congolese side TP Mazembe in the Caf Confederation Cup group stages in Atteridgeville.

Matsantsantsa held out for a 2-2 draw in the Congolese capital and Tembo is confident he can guide his side to victory.

“We will be calmer than the first time we played them away and we will probably have a better start than we had in Congo,” he told reporters.

“The game will be no different from when we played them there. We know Mazembe are the current champions of this competition so they have got the experience of playing in Africa, they do it every year. So it is not going to be an easy game even though we are playing at home.”

United have the Nedbank Cup final this Saturday against Orlando Pirates, but Stuart Baxter’s understudy insists his side are not distracted by the final.

“Looking at our season, we have been playing week in and week out. These two games are very big games for us but it is very different because the final is a once-off, it has to finish in one day. Whereas in this one we have to manage it better. After this we will still have two games to play before we get to the quarterfinals. These are two big games with different requirements. If we get a draw today, we will still have something to build on against Horoya AC,” he explained.

“We will pick up on the final on Wednesday,” Tembo added.

Tembo said his side must make the most of their home comforts if they are to make it out of the tight looking Group D where Horoya, Mazembe and United are all level on five points.

The top two sides in the group go into the last eight.

“It is very important that we get a good result at home, which is why we always field our strongest team on the day. We have three teams on five points, so whoever does not get a result in this round will find it difficult. So it is very important we get a win so we can get closer to qualifying for the quarterfinals.”