Downs ready for 3-pronged attack
NO ONE IS FATIGUED ARENDSE
MAMELODI Sundowns players have prepared themselves mentally to spend most of their time on the pitch and at airports in the coming weeks.
Sundowns will be competing in three different competitions within a space of six days, starting with the MTN8 first leg semifinal against Chippa United at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Sunday.
This will be followed by an Absa Premiership match and then a CAF Champions League game.
Sundowns defender Wayne Arendse said they will soldier on after the PSL bizarrely rejected the club’s request to have the league match against Maritzburg United on Wednesday postponed.
“That’s not our problem. We just need to play and step up and take it a game at a time. It’s not about what’s fair and what’s not fair. We put ourselves here.
“We are in a good space. If you ask any club if they want to be where we are, I think they would all put their hands up. We just need to prepare ourselves.
“We have a big enough squad and new players have come on board. The players who have been here are also ready to go. No one is tired, that’s not in our vocabulary.”
Chippa will test Sundowns with their passing game which left Platinum Stars defenders dazed and confused in the quarterfinals a fortnight ago.
Chippa are dangerous in the middle of the park with the likes of Thembinkosi Lorch, Strydom Wambi, Buyani Sali and captain Thami Sangweni, while they’ve got options up front with Lerato Manzini, Andile Mbenyane and the in-form Rhulani Manzini, who has three goals in two matches.
“It will be a tough encounter. We are playing in their backyard. They are on form at the moment. They have played two games and they have won both,” said Arendse.
“We need to be switched on defensively and sharp going forward. Their players look hungry, but at the same time we are ready for them. It will be an exciting time.”