Kings rediscovering Magic
ZIKALALA: WE WANT TO BE AMONG THE TOP FOUR AT THE HALFWAY POINT
As a senior player at Real Kings, Mndeni “Casper” Zikalala knew that the side’s poor start to their third National First Division season would not last long.
The Magic Boys looked to have lost their mojo in their opening six matches – losing five and drawing one.
But in their last match, the Magic Boys got the monkey off their back and registered their first win, beating their KwaZulu-Natal neighbours Royal Eagles 2-0, with goals from Thobani Kunene and Scelo Mkhize.
“We didn’t have a good start,” admitted Zikalala. “But no seasons are the same. Most teams were aware of how dangerous we can be and they upped their efforts when they faced us. We have been working on our mistakes. Our main problem was the way we were conceding goals, while failing to take our own chances. But we are working on that,” said the former Orlando Pirates and Baroka FC midfielder.
The next step now for Kings is to build on the win and Zikalala is optimistic they can still mount a challenge for promotion despite the stuttering start to their campaign.
“We did well against Eagles and we are building on that and we want to be among the top four teams at the halfway point. It was a good win because we were desperate. We had not won before that game. It has brought back confidence and you can see in training that the guys believe in themselves again,” he said.
Next item on the Magic Boys’ agenda is a fixture away at new boys Maccabi FC at Dobsonville Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Maccabi have had a much better start and are currently 10th with nine points after two wins, three draws and two defeats. They will be on a high after winning their last game against Ubuntu Cape Town.
“Maccabi are a closed book to us. But it is the same for them although they might have seen us once or twice. We will use that to our advantage in that it allows us to work on our strengths and not worry about what they can or cannot do.
“They are dangerous up front with the likes of (Collins) Mbesuma but I believe our defenders are now switched on and can deal with whatever threat they pose,” said Zikalala.