Johannesburg — Cape Town City will be eager to return to winning ways in the Premiership when they host a fast-improving Chippa United at Cape Town Stadium on Tuesday.
After enduring the heart-break of crashing out of the Caf Champions League preliminary qualifiers, City returned to domestic action last Wednesday.
But their misery continued as they were beaten 1-0 by rookies Richards Bay to remain rooted in 14th place on the league standings.
As if things couldn’t get worse, they will host an in-form Chippa knowing that victory is not guaranteed.
The Chilli Boys are currently enjoying a purple patch under administrator-turned coach Morgan Mammila, who has won four games in a row.
However, City cannot go into the game thinking that they will face a massive task. They should strive to return to winning ways at all costs.
After all, even though there has been changes here and there, this is the same team that finished second in the league last season and qualified for the Champions League.
Coach Eric Tinkler knows how to bounce back to winning ways. He did it at Maritzburg United, when they flirted with relegation.
And compared to the players that he had at Maritzburg, he is blessed with more talent at his disposal, including Bafana Bafana’s Khanyisa Mayo.
The 24-year-old had a great start to the season, scoring four goals in all competitions and he was called-up for Bafana’s friendlies last month.
His form might have dipped in the last few weeks given that he hasn’t scored since early September, but Mayo surely remains City’s go-to-guy up front.
Venezuelan striker Darwin Gonzalez also had a fine start to the campaign, scoring three league goals. But he needs an in-form Mayo to compliment him if City are to win. In the same breath, there is only so much that the striking pair can do – especially if there is a lack of supply in the final third.
And it’s not that City lack creative players, Tinker has been chopping and changing his team, killing fluidity and combinations between the players.
If he doesn’t stop his trial-and-error tactics against Chippa, he might be in for a surprise.
Chippa have more structure under Mammila, as they are able to string together passes before trying to put the ball behind the opposition’s defence.
IOL Sport