AmaZulu to use speed and flair

AmaZulu FC coach Benni McCarthy believes a bit of flair mixed with speed and a lot of movement will make it easy for them to beat Malawian side Nyasa Big Bullets in the first leg of the preliminary round of the Caf Champions League at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Friday.

McCarthy’s team will appear for the first time in Africa’s premier club competition after their surprise second-place finish in the Premiership last season.

In Nyasa, McCarthy said he expects a physical encounter and that is why using trickery and speedy movements could help them win the match.

“When teams analyse our teams they only worry about the technicality of the game, the speed, because SA players are smaller and we’re agile and quick with little one-twos,” said McCarthy. “You don’t prepare for the physicality because it’s not the SA football game.

“But for us, when we analyse teams on the continent, it’s impossible to analyse any team without worrying about physicality. That’s the first thing I spotted. The size of their team ... they’re quite big boys.”

The former Bafana Bafana striker admitted he had little information on Nyasa.

“We didn’t know very much about them [Bullets], but fortunately we have [Limbikani] Mzava in our team, who is from Malawi,” he said. “He was giving us a little bit of insight on them.”

Usuthu will face Nyasa without the injured Zambian striker Augustine Mulenga and new recruit from Gambia Matarr Ceesay but was happy to report the return of winger Thabo Qalinge from an ailment.