Mbenyane to miss key Chilli Boys showdown

Chippa United have been dealt a huge blow ahead of their crucial Absa Premiership fixture against Golden Arrows on Friday at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth (8pm).

The Chilli Boys will be without influential player Andile Mbenyane, who has been on song and instrumental in the team’s current success.

Mbenyane was red-carded during their 2-0 win over National First Division side Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila in the last-16 round of the Nedbank Cup.

The victory saw Chippa continue with their good form and they are now unbeaten in five matches since coach Clinton Larsen took over.

However, Larsen is not overly bothered by the red card setback.

“Andile has been consistently in my starting 11 since I got here, so it is a bit of a problem, especially taking into consideration that we have a small squad,” the former Bafana Bafa- na player said. “But Ruzaigh Gamildien can play in that role.

“We also have Mark Mayambela, who can play in that role, and Daine Klate. So we do have other players that can step up in his absence.”

The Chilli Boys have managed to move out of the basement of the log and are now in 13th place, with 19 points from 20 games.

However, they are not completely out of the danger zone.

Only three points separate them from 15th-placed Free State Stars.

Soon after taking up the post, the former Bloemfontein Celtic coach said he had a simple plan to help lift Chippa from the bottom.

His blueprint involved his team collecting at least five points from every three matches they played. The team would thus accumulate enough points to survive relegation.

Chippa successfully passed their first test with flying colours, managing to gather seven points from three league matches.

Friday’s game will be the second set of three matches.