Daniels ready for hectic night with Downs strikers
SuperSport will look to deny their neighbours space and time on the ball
As a defender, SuperSport United’s Clayton Daniels knows how important it is to stay focused throughout the 90 minutes, especially when he has to keep tabs on players such as Khama Billiat and Percy Tau of Mamelodi Sundowns.
A busy night lies in wait for whoever is going to play in defence for SuperSport tomorrow, when Stuart Baxter’s men visit fifth-placed Sundowns at Loftus Stadium (6pm).
It’s a derby none of these clubs can afford to lose, with the likes of Cape Town City and Bidvest Wits collecting points regularly.
To have a shot at winning the game, Daniels says Matsatsantsa cannot give Sundowns too much time on the ball and space to cause problems.
“They are a good team on the ball and sometimes they surprise you with the long ball over the top, behind the defence.
“[Hlompho] Kekana and other players are good at finding guys like Billiat and Tau behind the defence,” said the former Sundowns defender.
“With players who like to run in between the spaces, you have to come up with a game plan [to stop them].
“You cannot give them too much space and time on the ball.”
SuperSport, in fourth place, were stunned 1-0 at home by lowly placed Baroka recently.
Now they need a response against Sundowns to get their title charge back on track.
“If we can overcome Sundowns in this game, then we are really back in it.
“Both teams are in the running for the league and both teams have a hectic schedule, so it’s fairly even on the playing field,” noted Daniels.