Chippa must make it count this time

Chippa United need to start winning games if they are to avoid putting themselves under unnecessary pressure in the second half of the Absa Premiership.

Friday night’s game against AmaZulu at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium should be the fix to get the winning mentality going among the players.

After Friday’s clash, Chippa will be left with only three fixtures – against Cape Town City, Polokwane City and Wits – before the league breaks, and coach Eric Tinkler will be aiming to have his team in the top half of the log by then.

Although the Chilli Boys have improved in their general play, they still lack confidence in front of goal.

The Port Elizabeth professional soccer side has only managed to net six goals while 10 have been scored against them in 11 matches.

They are 12th on the log and only one point clear of the relegation zone. Their opponents, Usuthu, are three points behind them, in last place.

This means if Chippa lose against the Durban side on Friday night they will drop even further into the mire.

AmaZulu will go into the game confident after beating Highlands Park 2-1 on Tuesday.

Speaking on Tuesday after their goalless draw against Maritzburg United, Tinkler said Chippa do not deserve to be where they are.

He applauded his players’ performance in their past five league matches and said they deserved much more than they got in those games.

Aware of how vital their next match is, Tinkler said taking on AmaZulu would not be an easy task.

“We need to be ready for them. I think our confidence levels are a lot higher.,” he said.

“We can say it’s two decent results that we had recently.”

Chippa will have nearly two weeks off after Friday’s game before facing Cape Town City away on December 12.