Bay United coach Vladislav Heric will ring the changes when his Premier Soccer League rookies meet Free State Stars in the quarterfinal of the Telkom Knockout at QwaQwa’s Charles Mopeli Stadium on Saturday.
That was disclosed by the Serbian born coach after his charges scored a stunning 2-1 Absa Premiership win over big spending Mamelodi Sundowns at the Super Stadium on Sunday.
It was the second time in successive weekends that the Port Elizabeth-based minnows have beaten Downs. Bay United defeated Downs 1-0 in the previous round of the Knockout Cup.
”Keeping tactical discipline on the pitch is the key to success. But even I was pleasantly surprised by the passion my players showed today against a big team like Sundowns — beating them for the second time in a row,” said Heric.
”My goal this season is to ensure we stay in the PSL. Winning cup matches are a bonus. That is why I will give fringe players a chance against Stars on Saturday. I need to give as many players who have not been involved regularly some game time in the PSL and others a rest. I will be meeting with my technical team to decide who will play and who will be rested against Stars at the weekend.”
Veteran defenders Cyril Nzama and Patrick Mayo — who did not feature against Downs — could be in the frame for the Knockout clash against Stars, while man of the match against Downs, the 33-year-old former Bafana Bafana winger MacDonald Mukansi, is likely to be rested.
Heric praised the work done by Mukansi, who showed he still has blistering speed when he set up Bay’s opening goal for midfielder David Twala in the 64th minute.
”Mukansi works hard and still has a lot to offer, as do players like Nzama, but I need to manage them carefully.”
Jimmy Zakazaka scored the winner five minutes from time that sent the home fans and Downs coach Trott Moloto into despair.
Said Moloto afterwards: ”I knew that if we kept missing the goal-scoring chances we created in the first half we would pay and we did. What happens in this situation is that a small club like Bay United get encouraged when a team like Sundowns keeps missing chances and they start believing they can compete against us.”
Moloto said his job was not on the line. ”Football is a team game and everyone, including the players, are under pressure. It is not all about Trott. The players missed the chances and now we have got ourselves into a bad position where we have lost another three points at home [Downs were recently beaten 4-2 at home by Golden Arrow]). I was disappointed that once we equalised [through Siboniso Gaxa] we lost concentration in the final six minutes and gave away the winning goal to our opponents. That is not like Sundowns. We have never lost our focus like that. I am really disappointed by the way we lost at the death.”
But Moloto added that he had embraced his hard-to-please president Patrice Motsepe’s plan to bring in a manager to work with the technical team.
Said Moloto: ”I believe it is a good plan and will be for the good for the team. Therefore I have gladly accepted the decision to bring in a manager and will work with the new man.”
Club spokesperson Mahlatse Mphahlele said that the names being bandied about such as Ruud Gullit and his Dutch countryman Frank Rijkhard of Barcelona where not on Motsepe’s shopping list.
”We will make an announcement in due course but none of the names mentioned in the media over the past week are correct,” said Mphahlele. – Sapa