City will just go about things quietly

THEY may be new to the PSL, but already Cape Town City and Baroka FC have been involved in some tasty skirmishes this season. When the two clubs meet in a league fixture at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Sunday afternoon (3.30pm kickoff), it should be no different.

There’s sure to be more than a whiff of revenge in the air. For City, there’s the memory of a 2-1 home league defeat to the rookie top-flight club in October. For Baroka, it’s a reminder of how City edged them 4-3 in a Telkom Knockout Cup quarter-final in Polokwane in November.

With this as background, and especially with the two clubs at opposite ends of the PSL standings, this encounter has all the ingredients of a real spicy clash.

City went on to win the Telkom Knockout and are now in a title-challenging position near the top of the log. While the rest of the championship contenders have the distraction of being involved in Caf competitions, the Cape side’s coach, Eric Tinkler, wasn’t reading too much into it. He is, in fact, in awe of the depth of talent in the squads of Wits, Mamelodi Sundowns and SuperSport United.

Tinkler, of course, has experience of preparing a team for battle on more than one front. During his spell with Orlando Pirates, he steered them to the final of the Caf Confederation Cup while, at the same time, having to compete in domestic competitions.

“It’s again a tight programme this season,” said Tinkler. “And I know what it’s like managing a team at this time. You have to play two games a week and then there’s the travel as well. Sometimes it’s 48hrs to get there, and 48 hours back… and, once back in the country, you’re playing again. Depth is vital. And I think if you look at the squads of Wits, SuperSport and Sundowns, you can see that they have the depth. Look particularly at Gavin Hunt’s Wits squad, no doubt he’s taking things seriously this season.”

So, for Tinkler and City, it’s just a case of staying in the background and quietly going about things. They’re in their debut season and what they’ve achieved so far is probably a bit of a bonus. Nobody expected them to be where they are. City will continue doing what they do, take it game by game, and see where it takes them.

PSL fixtures Tomorrow: Chippa v Arrows Saturday: Pirates v Polokwane City; Celtic v Platinum Stars; Sundowns v Wits; Ajax v Chiefs (Athlone, 8.15pm); Highlands v SuperSport Sunday: Maritzburg Utd v FS Stars; Baroka FC v CT City (Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane, 3.30pm)