Complacency will be Kaizer Chiefs’ downfall against Black Leopards in the quarterfinal of the R1,3-million SAA Supa 8 match at the FNB Stadium on Saturday.
The jungle cats from Limpopo are hurting. They were overshadowed 2-0 by AmaKhosi in the semifinal of the Telkom Charity Cup at the same venue last month and they are expected to sweat blood on Saturday.
Club manager Chief Thidiela warned on Friday that Leopards will match Chiefs pound for pound.
”Our boys are more than ready to avenge their defeat,” he warned.
Chiefs know all too well that the visitors want to redeem their tainted image and in the process book a spot in the semifinal of the lucrative SAA Supa 8 competition.
Even Chiefs manager Bobby Motaung expects the Shakes Mashaba-led, black-and-gold outfit to give their all.
But Motaung said it is a known fact that every team rise to the occasion against Chiefs.
He said his club’s legions of fans and its supporters all want Chiefs in the final, and he added that it is for that reason that their approach to the game will be that of the semifinal.
”I am happy that we have an injury-free squad. Coach Ted Dumitru will be spoiled with the number of choices,” said Motaung, who is the eldest son of club MD Kaizer.
Chiefs public-relations officer Putco Mafani revealed that his club are in negotiations with a top goalkeeper, but refused to divulge the sticksman’s name.
”We will keep it as a secret until he signs with us. We have learnt our lesson from the Peter Ndlovu saga,” he said.
The Zimbabwean international striker was linked with Chiefs since being offloaded by Sheffield United last month.
Chiefs flew Ndlovu over to South Africa to sign the contract but the player joined Mamelodi Sundowns on his arrival two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, Wits University have promised to march to the semifinals of the competition at the expense of Orlando Pirates on Sunday.
The Students host the Buccaneers in another quarterfinal match at Orkney Stadium.
Softly spoken Wits public-relations officer Dennis Tshabalala said their game against Pirates will mark the end of the quarterfinals, which have been great.
”Pirates have struggled in the past two seasons to beat Wits and in fact, we beat them in our last game in the last season. We are going to do it again,” he said. ”Wits have quality and flair and the boys are determined to go through to the next round.”
Both games start at 3.15pm. — Sapa