Abidjan, last hope for Chiefs to redeem

THE last hope of redemption for Kaizer Chiefs in a barren season comes on Sunday in the Ivory Coast as they try to resurrect a precarious position against ASEC Abidjan in the African Champions League.

Reaching the group phase for the first time is Amakhosi’s last hope to salvage something from a campaign in which they looked destined to cede their Absa Premier League crown and have been unable to win any of the knockout trophies, despite reaching two finals.

Having lost 1-0 to Abidjan in the first leg of the second round tie, Amakhosi’s cause is difficult – and under-fire coach Steve Komphela departed with his side yesterday unwilling to make a bold prediction. “At least we’ve seen them play, faced up against them and gauged ourselves against them,” he said.

“The thing that concerns me most is a situation again where we dominate, create chances we don’t take and then suffer an accident,” Komphela said in reference to the soft goal conceded to Adama Bakayokoc in the second half of last Saturday’s first leg at Soccer City.

“We want to go to Abidjan and get an early goal and put pressure on them. If we can get a second, then I think we’ll have them struggling.

“We are going quite soon after our game against Cosmos, but we will just pick the best players and go there and see what we can do,” he said.

Chiefs have a poor record in DAN “Dance” Malesela knows his Chippa United team is under pressure to maintain their stay in the Premier Soccer League top eight this season.

However, Malesela says he hopes the pressure is good motivation for his side to win their remaining eight games in the league to achieve their target.

After a two-week break, the Chilli Boys get back into action on Sunday when they host 16th-placed Maritzburg United in a league fixture at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (3.30pm).

“Yes, there is pressure for us to stay in the top eight,” Malesela said.

“There is always pressure. There is pressure everywhere. There is pressure if you want to win the league. There is pressure if you want to get into the top eight. There is pressure to try and avoid relegation. I hope it is good motivation.”

He said the game against the Team of Choice would not be an easy one but that his side desperately needed the win. “Maritzburg is a difficult team to play against. “They really work hard. They chase for everything. So we also will chase for everything because we are also desperate for points.

“. . . we are only about a point or two away from the two teams below us. So we need to push for points as well, more so that it is our home game and we should have the advantage, not them.”

Malesela said the team had worked on tightening up, after their sloppy defence in their previous two matches.

“I have to be realistic with this whole situation because sometimes I expect too much and I push too much and maybe I need to give the players a bit of a break, a chance to express themselves the way that they can,” he said.

“I am one person who is positive results driven. But in a short space of time one must be appreciative as well of what we have achieved so far and not to be too hard on the players and on myself.”

The Port Elizabeth side have dropped to seventh place on the log.

Chippa and sixth-placed Orlando Pirates are both on 32 points but the Soweto giants are above on goal difference.

The former Cape Town All Stars coach said the problem had not been with scoring but with their defence.

“Goals we have been scoring; it’s the conceding that is the problem. If you check, in almost every match that we play we score a goal.

“I think that a team that scores two goals does not deserve to lose any match.

“So the problem has always been with our defending, which we have tried to address for the past two weeks.

“Even now we are still trying to address the defending part.

“The scoring I don’t think is that much of a problem, and hence we have this goal difference that we have,” he said. Africa’s top club competition, but have previously won the now-defunct African Cup Winners’ Cup 15 years ago.

In the Champions League, Chiefs have never made it into the group phase, in contrast to all their domestic success.

ý Coach Pitso Mosimane will urge his Mamelodi Sundowns side to attack the AC Leopards tomorrow in a CAF Champions League clash, he says.

The Beasts from Niari host the Brazilians at Denis Sassou Nguiesso Stadium in Dolisie, Congo Brazzaville, in the return leg of their first-round tie.

Sundowns won the first leg 2-0 a week ago at Lucas Moripe Stadium, but Mosimane says their two-goal advantage does not mean they should apply defensive tactics in the backyard of the Leopards.

“We have to be cautious, but we have to score. The approach must not be to sit back and park the bus,” he said.

“If the pitch doesn’t allow us, then we have to do what we have to do and win.”