Royal ready for anything against Chiefs
Royal AM mentor John Maduka has suggested that it is unfair to claim Kaizer Chiefs are the biggest recipients of favourable referees’ decisions this season, though they are braced for any decisions that might favour Amakhosi in Sunday’s Nedbank Cup tie at the Chatsworth Stadium (6pm).
“At the end of the day, you can’t blame Chiefs for playing with an advantage [having an extra man] because the decisions are not made by them, they just go there and play.
“What’s for us is to focus because that happens in football where there can be red cards and penalties,” Maduka said during a media open day at the club’s Royal Ranch base in Pietermaritzburg yesterday.
“We must be able to deal with that as professionals and our players should be ready mentally.
“If you want to go to the next round, you should be prepared for anything.
“Anything [in reference to red cards and penalties in regulation time] can happen at any time against any team, so we must be able to deal with that.”
Chiefs have been awarded more penalties (10) than any other team in the DStv Premiership this season. They have also played with an extra man nine times, more than any other side in the league this season, after their opponents were reduced to 10 men.
The Royal coach thinks they are under pressure to beat Chiefs since they lost 2-0 in their last meeting in January in the DStv Premiership, likening all their clashes against Amakhosi to a final.
Maduka also stressed the importance of not conceding in this Ke Yona Cup quarterfinal clash.
“They [Chiefs] beat us in the league game the last time we played against them, so the pressure is on us. To win the game, we have to dig very, very deep because Chiefs are a good team, a very offensive team.
“Whenever we play against Chiefs it’s like a cup final, so this one is no different, it’ sa quarterfinal but it feels like a final, “’ Maduka said.
“We haven’t kept a clean sheet in a while. For us to win against Kaizer Chiefs, we need to defend very, very well.”
Nedbank Cup quarterfinals: Saturday: Dondol v Pirates, Peter Mokaba (3pm); Stellenbosch v Sundowns, Athlone (6pm)
Sunday: Chippa v Sekhukhune, Mandela Bay (3pm); Royal v Chiefs, Chatsworth (6pm).