Dyaloyi takes over the reins at Chippa
No official word as insider confirms move
FORMER Bay United assistant coach Velile “Eddie” Dyaloyi has been entrusted with the onerous job of keeping Chippa United afloat in the Premier Soccer League.
Although, surprisingly, there has been no official word on Dyaloyi’s appointment from Chippa United’s management, a club insider confirmed the 48-year-old would be in charge of the side’s crucial fixture against Mpumalanga Black Aces at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit tonight (7.30pm).
Dyaloyi, who also coached East London sides Blackburn Rovers and FC Buffalo, was flown in to join the Chilli Boys in Nelspruit earlier this week.
This follows the surprise axing of caretaker coach Mich D’Avray after the team’s loss to Free State Stars at the weekend.
When asked about his appointment yesterday, Dyaloyi was not giving anything away. “Who told you that? . . . Let us wait for it to happen, then I can confirm it.” The club’s chief operations officer, Lukhanyo Mzinzi, and chief executive Peter Koutroulis were also tightlipped.
Dyaloyi was appointed as Chippa’s under-19 coach ahead of the Multi Choice Diski Challenge last year.
He comes in at a critical time as the Port Elizabeth-based PSL side are in desperate need of a win from their two remaining games, against Black Aces and Kaizer Chiefs, to remain in the PSL.
Chippa are in 14th place on the log with 29 points from 28 games. They are involved in a fight to avoid the big drop with Moroka Swallows and AmaZulu.
Despite the secrecy within the Chippa management, club captain James Okwuosa believes Dyaloyi has the ability to motivate the team.
“Eddie will bring in a lot of motivation because he knows the players more. He has been coming to our training sessions.”
He does, however, think it is too late for Dyaloyi to make any significant impact on the team at this stage of the season.
“It’s too late for any coach to make any impact on the team now. It all depends on the players. We are doing all we can to try and get three points. We know it’s a do-or-die game.”
The Nigerian defender says they know Aces will also be out for a win, as they are also not safe from the relegation zone.
Meanwhile, securing a rare league double is a dream AmaZulu need to realise today in Pretoria. Anything less than three points against University of Pretoria could all but end their nine-year PSL stint.
AmaZulu twice watched Moroka Swallows gain points while they failed to win their last two matches. The importance of the four points dropped cannot be understated as AmaZulu’s positive goal difference could have seen them a point behind Chippa, and a positive result would have been fatal for Swallows.
A win for AmaZulu, coupled with losses for Swallows and Chippa United, would make Saturday’s proceedings very interesting, with Chippa playing Chiefs and Swallows hosting Bloemfontein Celtic.