Maritzburg face uphill training
MARITZBURG United players can expect no respite from work after they won their first game of the league season as coach Clive Barker promised a tough training regime in the fortnight before their next game against champions Kaizer Chiefs.
“I’m going to chase them over the hills,” he said yesterday after returning home from the 1-0 victory over the University of Pretoria at the Tuks Stadium on Sunday.
“The old coaches will tell you when things are going well you’ve got to go hard at the players and when it is not going right they must lay off a bit. It’s not going to be a picnic for the players this week.”
Maritzburg are still bottom despite the win, which ended the second-worst run ever in Absa Premiership history.
They had lost eight successive league games and there was massive relief for the club after they held onto an early lead from Evans Rusike for three valuable points.
“We hung on nicely but there was absolutely nothing left in the players. Had we gone another five minutes they would all have been finished,” Barker said.
“The win gives everybody a lift. People are now greeting us again in Maritzburg, waving three fingers for three points. The whole morale is lifted and it’s good for the players as well as the chairman and staff.”
They meet Chiefs at home on November 21. Maritzburg now have four points, one less than second-from-bottom University of Pretoria, who have played a game less.