Chippa aim to give fans early Christmas present
CHIPPA United are desperate to close the first half of their Premier Soccer League campaign on a high note when they play Ajax at the Cape Town Stadium tonight, from 7.30pm.
The fixture will be the Port Elizabeth side’s last game before the festive season break.
Chippa will set out to give their supporters an early Christmas present but, most importantly, eye a second consecutive victory.
The Chilli Boys beat Highlands Park 2-0 away in their last league fixture.
Despite an injury crisis, Chippa coach Dan Malesela said he was hoping for a win against the Urban Warriors.
“I am hoping for three more points, but life is getting difficult every day,” Malesela said.
“We are sitting with quite a number of injuries, particularly at the back, but these are the challenges of football and I think we will overcome them.”
A victory will enable the Chilli Boys to move into a more favourable position on the log. Chippa are 10th, with 16 points from 13 matches.
But only five points separate them from Free State Stars, who are last on the log.
“We now find ourselves on the other side of the log,” Malesela said. “The priority should be to move away from the bottom, not to think about chasing targets or about position.
“We have had a slight change to our approach because in the beginning we were a bit confident that we would probably glide with the league.
“But we have found ourselves in a bit of a slump, so we must look at where we are and what is reasonable,” he said.
Ajax will go into the game with their confident levels on a high after their 3-0 victory against Bloemfontein Celtic.
The win was the Cape Town outfit’s fourth Premier League victory this season.
The Urban Warriors are just behind Chippa in 11th place on the log, with 15 points from 14 matches.
Thamsanqa Sangweni and Rhulani Manzini have, meanwhile, extended their contract with the Chilli Boys until the end of June 2020.
Star midfielder Sangweni and striker Manzini’s contracts were due to expire at the end of the 2016-17 season‚ and now they are contracted to the Chippa United club until the end of the 2019-20 season.
Sangweni was linked to Kaizer Chiefs in the previous transfer window and his contract renewal by Chippa will come as blow to the Amakhosi‚ who had earmarked the 27year-old to bolster their central midfield.
Chilli Boys chairman and owner Chippa Mpengesi said yesterday: “We are delighted to have reached new agreements with Thamsanqa Sangweni and Rhulani Manzini.
“They are important players for the team and our ambitions going forward.”
“The two extensions demonstrates our ambition as a football club to continue to grow and challenge for honours,” Mpengesi said.
“I would like to thank both players and the management for their professionalism during negotiations.
“We are excited to have them staying with us long term.”