SuperSport ready for test
DOWNS COACH: FOUR-POINT LEAD CAN BE OVERTURNED
Going five league games without victory in sight is not something SuperSport United are accustomed to. Matsatsantsa will be looking to find their feet in the Absa Premiership and rediscover their form this evening that saw them reach the 2017 Caf Confederation Cup final, when they take on Kaizer Chiefs at the Mbombela Stadium.
United’s last five games read three draws and two defeats. Skipper Dean Furman (above) is eager to see his side return to winning ways and register what would be their third victory over Steve Komphela’s Amakhosi this season.
“We enjoy coming up against Chiefs, it is going to be a great crowd for us. We’ll be looking to get our season back on track,” Furman told the Saturday Citizen.
United are undefeated against Chiefs in their last five meetings, and are playing at their happy hunting ground, a place where they rarely lose.
However, Furman says Chiefs, who have already strengthened their squad in January with the signings of Leonardo Castro, Kabelo Mahlasela and Siphelele Ntshangase, are always tough customers.
“It is definitely not simple, but we enjoy playing in Mbombela, it is always a great atmosphere and we enjoy the pitch, it is great and it suits our style of play.
“Coming up against Chiefs we are up against the fans and the majority are against us but I always feel we have got the players who enjoy playing in that kind of atmosphere and they always raise their performance levels,” he added.
Matsatsantsa ended 2017 with a number of players missing due to injury, one being Bafana Bafana keeper Ronwen Williams. Former Chiefs keeper Reyaad Pieterse is likely to take the gloves and go up against his former employers.
Manchester City the yardstick for Mosimane’s men.
Pitso Mosimane has time and time again called on his Mamelodi Sundowns side to mirror what Manchester City are doing in terms of running away with the English Premier League.
The Manchester side, led by Spanish coach Pep Guardiola, are 15 points clear of crosstown rivals Manchester United.
For Masandawana, the gap may not be as big as City’s, but they seem to be reading from the a similar script as they lead the Absa Premiership pack by four points, with a game in hand on Benni McCarthy’s second-placed Cape Town City.
Although Mosimane may want his side to replicate the English outfit, the former Bafana Bafana coach is not under the illusion that they are running away with the league just yet, as he feels a four-point gap can be easily bridged.
The Brazilians open their 2018 account with an away match at Bernard Molekwa’s Polokwane City side this afternoon at the Peter Mokaba Stadium.
Sundowns finished their 2017 with a surprise 1-0 defeat at the hands of City. However, before that loss, Downs had registered four wins on the trot which took them to the top of the Absa Premiership.
“It is too early, we don’t want to be all over the place. When we have about 14 to 15-point lead then we can say it will be silly to lose the title, but when we have not come up to that, it is still early,” said Mosimane.
As expected, the club have been busy in the current transfer window, having finally secured the services of long-time target Aubrey Ngoma from City.
On the part of Rise and Shine, they managed to land Malawian international Muhammad Sulumba whom they have been chasing since the previous transfer window. In their arsenal, City boast the league’s leading goalscorer in Rodney Ramagalela who sits on eight goals, two ahead of Downs’ Percy Tau.
Ramagalela has already tormented the likes of Denis Onyango and his backline in the reverse fixture back in August when he scored twice to lead his side to a 2-1 win over his former employers.