Kobola has a desire to hurt his old City friends

Maritzburg United assistant coach Vincent Kobola (below) wants to steal three points from his “home” – Cape Town City – when he returns to his old stomping ground with his new family members from KwaZulu-Natal.

Kobola admits the Mother City club still holds a special place in his heart but added that his heart is now with the Team of Choice and their desires trump the love he has for coach Benni McCarthy’s side.

The assistant coach wants his side, who he says are wellprepared to face the Citizens, to go into the match knowing McCarthy’s charges are capable of shaking off the defeat by Kaizer Chiefs in the Telkom Knockout cup match last weekend and pounce to hurt their next opponents.

“Cape Town City used to be my home but now my home is here at Maritzburg United,” said Kobola.

“I still respect everyone there and I have a good relationship with everyone there but at this moment I am with

Maritzburg. I am a winner and I want to win against Cape Town City. It doesn’t matter what relationship I have with the club – I play to win and I want to win against them.

“They are having a bad run at the moment, but they have good players and a good coach in Benni McCarthy, and they will bounce back.”

Head coach Eric Tinkler counted the casualties in his camp for their away fixture, with midfielder Phumlani Ntshangase out with a long-term injury and with some of his other players still working towards a full recovery.

Tinkler shares his righthand man’s sentiments, stating that City’s loss to Amakhosi is not a true reflection of what the Citizens can produce on the day.

“We can’t go on statistics, we have to perform on the evening that’s what’s important, for players to lift their game,” said Tinkler.

“It is important for Cape Town City to get back to winning ways so we have to be at our best for us to collect all three points. It is not going to be an easy match.”