Loftus Stadium is the battlefield tonight when two giants of South African soccer take to the field to find out who is the best. Sundowns are home to Kaizer Chiefs.
Sundowns suffered a loss in Thohoyandou the past weekend to Black Leopards and they will look at redeeming themselves at the expense of Chiefs who has not won in their past two games.
The Pretoria-based side lost 2-1 to a resurgent Lidoda Duvha who has found a new lease of life since being under the mentorship of Sherperd Murape.
Chiefs last Saturday played to a 1-1 draw against arch-rivals Orlando Pirates in a Soweto derby. Tonight’s clash will see the two teams vying desperately to collect maximum points as their positions on the log are not satisfactory.
Sundowns’ sit higher up in the log than Chiefs, which lies in the wrong half of the log. Since taking over the reins from the temperamental Turkish coach, Muhsin Ertugral, the two Chiefs co-coaches, Donald ”Ace” Khuse and Doctor Khumalo have lost only one crucial game — the Coca-Cola final, which they lost to Jomo Cosmos two weeks ago.
If there is one thing that should not be underestimated about Sundowns, it is their lethal strike force. The ”Brazilians” have capable forwards who do not take a decade to put the ball in the back of the net. The likes of Hareipha Marumo, Daniel Mudau, Alois Bunjira and Ishmael Maluleke are goal poachers who have proved their worth when it mattered most.
Last seasons’ two clashes saw Sundowns beating Chiefs with a solitary goal and the second game being a 1-1 draw. Much has changed in the two camps since those games. New players were signed. It is eagerly waited what they have in store for the soccer-loving supporters who will be descending in Pretoria tonight.
Chiefs have one talented midfielder whose exploits are respected by everyone. He is a young man who can prove how easy opponents can be destroyed, he does that with confidence. Jabu Pule will be one of Sundowns’ concerns, because they cannot afford to be mesmerized by his skills and inroads in the eighteen yard area.
There is a solid forward at Chiefs from the Democratic Republic of Congo; Kabamba Musasa is a man who does not tolerate scrappy defenders and slow-thinking man markers. In his short stay with Amakhosi, he is well understood by opponents.
Tonight’s game should be an entertaining spectacle that has come to be expected from these two teams. Sundowns are now used to the fact that whenever they play Chiefs the crowd is dominated by Amakhosi supporters — that should not be a problem for their players.