High-flying Amatuks are cautious about Pirates match
PREMIERSHIP greenhorns University of Pretoria have had such a fairytale start to life in the top flight that their coach, Steve Barker, is thinking of taking a photograph of the log and framing it.
AmaTuks gained promotion to the premiership only a few months ago but have made such an immediate impression, that they are second on the log, just four points behind leaders Kaizer Chiefs.
Barker told Business Day yesterday there were days when he had difficulty believing the premiership table when he saw his team’s placing in the newspapers.
“Honestly, sometimes it is difficult to believe and hard to take it all in,” he said.
“Maybe I should take a photo- graph of that log and frame it because not only are we second on the table, but we are also above our more illustrious Pretoria neighbours (Mamelodi Sundowns and SuperSport United). This does not happen everyday, does it?”
Sundowns and United have won eight premiership titles between them since the start of the Premier Soccer League in 1996 and Barker’s excitement is understandable.
United are eighth on the premiership table, while the ailing Sundowns are third from the bottom and have the same number of points as basement side AmaZulu.
AmaTuks are one of four unbeaten sides in the premiership — the others are Chiefs, Free State Stars and United — and Barker is aware the record will be put to the test by defending league champions Orlando Pirates at Loftus on Sunday.
Fourth-placed Pirates will arrive at Loftus desperate to recover quickly after their 1-0 defeat to Bloemfontein Celtic at the weekend. This was new coach Roger de Sa’s first loss and Barker said this makes them dangerous opponents.
“We know very well that teams of Pirates’ calibre do not lose two games in a row and that means they will be determined to prevent that from happening on Sunday.
“They will be desperate for the points because they will trail leaders Chiefs by an even bigger margin if they drop points against us.”
But Barker said he sensed a level of desperation creeping into the Pirates’ play and hoped his charges would be able to take advantage.
“We can never forget that they have the talent to pull off a five-star performance on any day and cannot ever be underestimated.
“But they are lacking a little bit of confidence at the moment and hopefully that continues on Sunday.”
The newcomers will look to Aubrey Ngoma and Mame Niang to provide the goals after the duo’s impressive return since the start of the campaign in August.
Ngoma has found the back of the net four times, while the lanky Niang has three goals to his name.
“When Mame became available, we jumped at the opportunity to bring him to our club. We are playing him to his strengths and he has been devastating for us.”
Interestingly, Ngoma is on loan from Pirates and is not struggling to find the back of the net in AmaTuks’ colours. Pirates, on the other hand, have struggled to score goals since the start of the campaign, managing just five in six matches.