Stars will not make life easy for Chippa
CHIPPA United’s goalless draw against Mamelodi Sundowns would not guarantee them a win in their next Premier Soccer League fixture, coach Dan Malesela said.
The Port Elizabeth side are faced with yet another tough encounter as they play Platinum Stars at Royal Bafokeng Stadium tomorrow.
Chippa and Sundowns concluded their game, which was abandoned on Tuesday night due to power failure after 41 minutes of play, yesterday morning.
According to the PSL’s rule 14.7, the clubs had to agree on a time, within 48 hours, to complete an abandoned game.
“We always expect positive outcomes but this one does not say anything,” Malesela said. “It does not automatically say we will win the next game.
“It’s going to be tough [playing] Platinum Stars.
“They won 3-0 against Bloemfontein Celtic, so they are on a high.
“It will all depend on how we handle ourselves on the day and what we do. But we need to be positive every time.”
The Chilli Boys held the defending champions for the second time in recent weeks, after the teams drew 1-1 at the Sisa Dukatshe Stadium.
But Malesela said he would have been far happier with two wins from those games, albeit that Sundowns are Africa’s champions.
“To be honest, we are four points down and we need the points more. Honestly speaking, we did not do much to get those points,” he said.
“But we appreciate the fact that we got a point away from home against a team of Sundowns’ calibre.”
Meanwhile, Brazilians coach Pitso Mosimane said he was disappointed with the result.
“This was a very awkward game. It reminded me of when we played Orlando Pirates where we had to come back [the following morning] and play the last seven minutes. Our minds were never there,” he said.
“To be honest we tried and we had opportunities, but we were playing 45 minutes so, in 45 minutes, it’s easy to defend and die hard.
“We tried to score, we tried to do whatever we had to do [to get the points]. We will take the point, but we are disappointed.”
Tomorrow night’s kickoff is at 8pm.
It will all depend on how we handle ourselves on the day and what we do. But we need to be positive every time