Boebie always feels good about derby days

MILANO UNITED coach Boebie Solomons hopes that an increased focus on the psychological aspects of the game will help his side turn the corner on their poor form when they face Stellenbosch FC this afternoon.

Milano are second-last on the NFD table after a win, a draw and three losses, and aim to cut out the errors that have cost them dearly in those games.

“We did change a few things this week, because obviously if things have not gone well for you can’t just keep them the same,” Solomons said.

“Most importantly we did a lot of mental preparation. We worked on the psychological side of the game. We did some teamwork exercises and some exercises to help build our winning mentality. We had a workshop for that and it worked quite well.”

Solomons’ side started the season with 2-1 and 2-0 losses to Witbank Spurs and Mbombela United respectively, before a moraleboosting 2-1 win over relegated PSL side Jomo Cosmos in their third game. They then suffered a 4-0 drubbing to Black Leopards in Thohoyandou, before a 1-1 draw against Cape Town All Stars last week.

Stellenbosch will also play their second consecutive Cape derby today, but head into the match on the back of better results. The Cape Winelands side recorded 2-0, 2-1 and 1-0 wins over Magesi FC, Royal Eagles and Santos respectively in their last three games to climb to third on the table.

Milano hope to bring that run to an end at Coetzenburg Stadium today, and Solomons said the derby aspect will have his players fired up.

“I always feel good about derbies because I know there will be a lot of commitment from the players because it’s a fight for bragging rights. I like this type of game,” he said.

“We know that Stellenbosch FC is a good team and they have two players who played for us before, Junaid Sait and Brent Adonis, so there will be a bit of needle in the game.”

Meanwhile, two other local clubs will also be in action at 3:30pm today. Santos travel to Witbank Spurs and FC Cape Town host league leaders Thanda Royal Zulu at NNK Stadium in Parow.

Cape Town All Stars will hope to pick up their first victory of the season when they host Mthata Bucks at Athlone Stadium at tomorrow. All Stars are the only NFD side to have not won a game and are last on the log.