SuperSport look to end season on a high note

SuperSport United reserve team coach Nico Labohm has urged his troops to put on their scoring boots in their MultiChoice Diski Shield third/fourth place playoff clash against Orlando Pirates at the King Zwelithini Stadium on Sunday (10am).

SuperSport are vying for a third finish in the tournament following a slender 1-0 defeat to arch-rivals Mamelodi Sundowns in the semifinals on May 1.

Labohm's troops lost their encounter against Sundowns at their own peril, as they failed to make numerous chances count, especially in the second half.

However, considering that their clash against Pirates will also bring down the curtains on their season, there’s a number of reasons why the encounter is a must win.

"For the squad on Sunday, we'll play the young ones," Labohm stated. "But I hope that we can have the strikers back to their best form and they can score goals. We'll need a killer instinct up front."

SuperSport will play their young guns on Sunday due to the unavailability of trio Luke Le Roux, Luke Fleurs and Oswin Appolis who are with the under-20 national team (Amajita) squad that is currently preparing for the Fifa World Cup in Poland.

The South Africans are in group F alongside Argentina, Portugal and South Korea. With the aided experience from their impressive Diski Challenge campaign, Labohm is adamant that his trio will put in a good shift in the national team colours.

"We had a good season, and a third place finish was not bad at all," he said. "But overall we can still improve as a nation when it comes to knowledge and tactical part of the game because they've got the technique. But there's still time for the boys to polish that especially since most of them are at 19-21 years of age. Competitions such as the World Cup will also give them a chance to blend with some of the best in the globe."

Labohm might have spent the last 13 years in his native Netherlands since his last spell in the country from 2001 to 2005. But he is aware that scoring is a national tragedy as top-flight strikers have also came short in reaching the 30-mark since the 2004/2005 season. In that period, Kaizer Chiefs striker Collins Mbesuma scored 25 league goals and 35 in all competitions.

Two of Matsantsa A Pitori’s junior strikers, Khanyisile Mayo and Darren Smith, were loaned out to Maccabi FC and Ubuntu Cape Town during the mid-season transfer window and found the going tough away from home as they were mostly unused substitutes or found themselves kicking their heels in the stands.

"If you go through his (Smith) statistics at Ubuntu, you can't expect him to improve if he is not playing," Labohm explained. "But if they have got a striker that is scoring, then he is not going to play. The experience was good for him."

Although midfield maestro Kamohelo Mahlatsi appeared to be the team's knight in shining armour this season, Labohm feels that he can still pull his weight.

Mahlatsi played a sterling role in inspiring SuperSport to the semifinals of the Diski Shield especially after beating Free State Stars in the last round of the group stage matches.