Abafana Bes’thende have started the season well and although mindful of an Amakhosi backlash, they’re optimistic about a positive result this weekend
Golden Arrows captain Matome Mathiane says his team are mindful of a Kaizer Chiefs backlash but have a game-plan in place for a positive result.
Following the international break, Chiefs will be desperate to bounce back and start stringing some form together. This is after they lost three, drew one and won two of their opening six matches in all competitions.
In the PSL, Amakhosi have only found the back of the net once in three matches, an own goal by a Chippa United defender in their 1-0 win over the Chilli Boys.
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Arrows meanwhile have started solidly and are in filth spot on the table with five points from three fixtures; a convincing 3-1 win over SuperSport United as well as 1-1 draws against Baroka FC and Bloemfontein Celtic.
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As their skipper says, the KwaZulu-Natal side is braced for an onslaught by Chiefs when they meet at the Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium on Saturday afternoon, 15:30 kick off.
At the same time, Abafana Bes’thende, under head coach Mandla Ncikazi, have plans of their own to win the game.
“They are still a big team, and we will give them the respect they deserve,” Mathiane told Sowetan.
“But going to play Chiefs, we know that they will want to bounce back to winning ways at our expense. That’s something we don’t want a team that has not been winning to get back to winning ways against us. So we are well prepared to play against them.
“We play with high intensity, and we press. The moment we will start pressing, they will have a serious problem,” Mathiane added.
The Arrows defender also mentioned that the Glamour Boys seemingly have a reliance on playing route-one football and he has questioned their ability string passes together.
“They don’t have those players they used to where they will keep the ball for a long time. The system they are playing now, they are using long balls, so we are a team who plays possession football.”
