Baroka resume fight to stay up
Phiri predicts tough day against Usuthu
Now that they are out of the Nedbank Cup, Baroka FC midfielder Gerald Phiri Junior wants his side to put all their focus on the remaining Absa Premiership matches to ensure they beat the relegation axe.
Baroka lost 3-0 to Bloemfontein Celtic in the cup semifinals at Orlando Stadium on Saturday, and that could be a blessing in disguise for them.
Phiri said though they wanted to go all the way and win the cup, they will now focus on surviving the chop.
Baroka face fellow relegation strugglers AmaZulu at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday (1.30pm) in a match both teams cannot afford to drop points.
“I think this is the only way to go; we don’t have anything left to play for except for the league, so I think that’s where we should focus on right now,” Phiri told Sowetan yesterday.
“We can’t say it is a blessing in disguise to lose out in the Nedbank Cup. We just have to focus on the league and see how it goes,” Phiri said.
Baroka and AmaZulu are both tied on 23 points at the bottom end of the table, together with Polokwane City who will meet log leaders Kaizer Chiefs at Loftus Versfeld, also on Saturday.
The 27-year-old predicts a scrappy affair against Usuthu, as both sides are desperate not to lose: “All the remaining games are vital for us, we have to take every game as a cup final now, to makes sure we win them to give ourselves a chance to survive.
“I’m sure it is going to be a scrappy game... we want to win, they want to win.
“But the advantage for us is that we got a bit of game time but we don’t know what’s been happening with AmaZulu, so we just have to see [on the day].”