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Chiefs cannot afford to be wasteful against Stellies

football31 March 2024 16:08| © Backpage TXT
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Kaizer Chiefs interim coach Cavin Johnson is hoping his team can take the chances that come their way when high-flying Stellenbosch visit the FNB Stadium on Tuesday.

Kick-off is at 7.30pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)

CURRENT FORM:

The Glamour Boys wasted a plethora of opportunities in a 0-0 draw with Cape Town City at Athlone Stadium on Saturday, which left them winless in their last two DStv Premiership outings.

Amakhosi have recorded just one win in five games since the league resumed last month after the mid-season break and they are five points adrift of the CAF Champions League places in seventh spot.

Chiefs have a good recent record against Stellies though, with a 2-0 victory in the reverse fixture at Athlone Stadium on 30 August making it three top-flight wins in a row.

The Maroons are soaring after they beat Royal AM 3-0 at the Danie Craven Stadium on Saturday, 30 March to leapfrog SuperSport United and Orlando Pirates into second position.

Steve Barker's side have won two of their five matches in 2024, but are challenging for continental football on the back of an impressive 12-game unbeaten run in the league.

WHAT WAS SAID:

Kaizer Chiefs interim coach Cavin Johnson

"Good game of football (against Cape Town City) I thought, but in the end the pitch was heavy, but I thought in the 90 minutes we had a better opportunity to seal the game.

"I thought in the first half we had too many good opportunities and in the second half I lost count because I thought we were going to get it (a goal).

"As we don't come off a good run, we lost the derby so we need to pick up the points and going away with one point is always a good thing but we needed to win the game and I thought we had an opportunity to win the game, but that's football for you."

Stellenbosch head coach Steve Barker

"I'm obviously very pleased. I thought it was a very professional and mature performance (against Royal AM), and reflective of a team that belongs where we are on the table, which is currently second.

"It was a solid performance all round where everybody did their bit. We kept a clean sheet and scored three goals, so one can't complain about anything today. I was really proud of that.

"Tuesday is close and fortunately the game allowed us to have the luxury of making substitutions to keep everyone ready and fresh because obviously, a big, big game awaits us."

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

Kaizer Chiefs - Siyethemba Sithebe will be pushing for only his third start of the campaign after catching the eye in the stalemate against the Citizens.

The 31-year-old midfielder hadn't featured since the 2-1 defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns on 9 August, but he was a livewire in the middle of the park and squandered two chances to open the scoring early on, while he threaded Wandile Duba and Ashley Du Preez through on goal with two delightful passes.

Stellenbosch - Iqraam Rayners played a starring role against Thwihli Thwahla on his 50th appearance for the club, setting up Devin Titus for the opener on 25 minutes before sealing the win in the 56th minute.

The 28-year-old striker, who scored his first international goal for Bafana Bafana in a 3-3 draw with Algeria last week, is just two goals behind top scorer Lucas Ribeiro after taking his tally to eight for the season.

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