Chiefs’ Du Preez hoping to start last game of year

Ashley du Preez is hoping to get his place back in the Kaizer Chiefs’ starting line-up as they end the year away against Sekhukhune United in the DStv Premiership on Saturday.

The 26-year-old striker Du Preez was sidelined for two months before returning for 23-minute run out as a second half substitute in last Saturday’s 1-0 win over Richards Bay at Soccer City.

“I’m back from injury and it’s so nice. You know, injury is always a setback. It is frustrating mentally. It was so nice to play a few minutes in the Richards Bay game,” he said on the eve of the clash in Polokwane.

“I was happy we won that game and I felt I was fully fit, 100 per cent,” he added. “Just touching the ball, playing with the team and in front of the fans, I loved that.”

Du Preez say Chiefs are seeking to continue their winning run in the league after three successive victories, all 1-0 triumphs.

“To maintain the momentum we need to keep working hard at training. The three back-to-back wins has been amazing for the team, that’s what we want. We want to continue our winning mentality into the last game of the year.

“We want to go out there and firstly enjoy ourselves and get three points and end the year on a high note.

“For us as a team, we’ve been striving to do better one game at a time and want to continue winning. I want to help the team to get the three points, that’s what I want to do for the last game, to work extremely hard,” he added.

Du Preez last started a game for Chiefs in the 1-0 loss to Cape Town city at Soccer City on October 3. He has three goals in 10 starts for the club this season.