Usuthu looking for win number three

DESPITE a positive start to the First Division season, AmaZulu need to develop greater consistency if they are to emerge as championship contenders after today’s table topper at Mthatha Bucks in the Eastern Cape.

Both sides won their two opening games, and share top spot with University of Pretoria and Thanda Royal Zulu.

AmaZulu coach Joey Antipas said it was too early to talk about the title because much work still needed to be done. Having won the Zimbabwean championship twice with two different clubs in recent years, Antipas knows what it takes to go the distance.

“To win a championship is very difficult,” he said. “We’ve got to be consistent and have some luck here and there. The team must pull in the same direction, and players must have the will and fighting spirit… We used mostly the same team the last two games because I believe in continuity and sticking with a winning team.”

That means veteran strikers Siyabonga Nomvete and Mabhuti Khenyeza will again front the attack.

In Pietermaritzburg, Royal Eagles will expect to register their first win against Cape Town All Stars, who lost their two opening games and parted with coach Mlungisi Ngubane. Eagles drew their first match and lost their second, with one goal scored.

The other local side in action today, Real Kings, welcome last season’s surprise play-off qualifiers Mbombela United to Clermont. The fourth KZN team, Thanda Royal Zulu, host Witbank Spurs in Richards Bay tomorrow.