Durban — A struggling Chippa United will play host to a wounded Mamelodi Sundowns outfit looking to bounce back from defeat when the two sides meet at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Wednesday at 7.30pm
The defending DStv Premiership champions find themselves in unfamiliar territory at this stage of the season, suffering two defeats in the opening six games, the last of them coming last Friday in the Tshwane derby against SuperSport United.
Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi acknowledged that his side are in foreign territory but emphasised the importance of being psychologically ready for the Chilli Boys.
“The mood is good (in the camp) but obviously we still feel the pain, we are not a team that is accustomed to losing matches of that kind but we have to move on and focus on the next assignment,” said Mngqithi
Mngqithi, although focused on imposing themselves on Chippa, praised the influence new Chippa coach Daine Klate has had on the club.
“It’s encouraging to see what Daine has done with that team. They scored a few goals from set pieces and (Abdi) Banda has played a role for them in that space and they also have Ighadoro Etiosa who has done very well for them, he’s been involved in two or three of their goals this season,” explained Mngqithi
“Daine has done a great general job on that team structurally, they’re very offensive, they don’t just play on the break.”
The Chilli Boys almost completed a miraculous second half comeback in their last match against Arrows after heading into the break 3-0 down and Mngqithi believes it’s that kind of tactical adaptation that makes them dangerous.
“Unfortunately against Golden Arrows they were disappointed by their first half but they had an outstanding second half which speaks to the quality of coaching so we do expect a difficult match but we know as Sundowns we’re expected to win,” he concluded.
For Chippa, an encounter against Sundowns couldn’t have come at a worse time. They have won just one of their opening six matches of the season, a shock victory at Orlando Pirates, a testament to the kind of danger they pose.
However, Chippa prop up the table at the bottom and head into this match having collected just five points so far. They will need a confidence boosting result against Sundowns if they are to push on and avoid a potential relegation battle.
IOL Sport