Chippa need to tighten defence — Hunt
Chippa United will have to tighten their defence when playing against a dangerous Stellenbosch outfit this weekend, head coach Gavin Hunt said.
The Dstv Premiership fixture will be played at the Danie Craven Stadium on Saturday (5pm).
Stellenbosch have had a positive start to their league campaign.
Four matches into the season the hosts remain unbeaten, with their most recent result a 3-0 win against Cape Town City.
They are in third position on the log with eight points after two wins and as many draws.
It is a pity the same cannot be said about their opponents.
Chippa suffered their second consecutive loss when they went down 3-1 to Orlando Pirates, which followed a 1-0 setback to rookies Royal AM.
Despite the back-to-back defeats, Hunt said the mood at the camp was fine.
“It has never changed — it has always been good. There are no problems and we are working hard,” he said.
“We know we had more than enough chances to win. We had better chances than them (Pirates), two break-out goals at the end in the second half.
“Obviously, we had to be better, but I think we created more [chances] than them.
“However, we have to be better on the counter.”
Hunt had said it was his defence that had failed against Pirates.
“It’s football, it’s not about defending. It’s about the team’s defensive mode.
“It’s something that we have to get right at Chippa. It’s been a problem for all the years I’ve known [the team].
“We are a little bit soft, we need to be a little bit tougher, defend properly and defend to the principles that we put in place.”
Hunt said he would be making some minor changes to his squad.
“The approach will be the same, obviously defensively we have to tighten up a little.
“Defensively, that goes from the front to the back and not just to the back.
“So those are the things that we are working on at the training ground daily.”
Meanwhile, Stellenbosch coach Steve Barker said it was tough playing against Hunt.
“I think they have strengthened the squad well from last season,” he said.
“There has been really good additions to the team, players like Phakamani Mahlambi and Mogakolodi Ngele, among others.
“They are good, quality players.
“Playing against Gavin Hunt’s team is never easy; they are always well-organised and they put you under pressure.
“They are compact and difficult to break down.
“They’ll be good on transition so it’s a totally different game against them as opposed to Cape Town City.
“We have to be ready for that challenge and to negate the strength that they have.
“At the same time, we have to find ways to unlock their defence, their shape and their compactness.
“So we have been working on that this week and, hopefully, it will come off at the weekend,” Barker said.