Kaizer Chiefs assistant Ben Youssef: Not easy to play against lower-division teams

Kaizer Chiefs will begin their last throw of the dice at winning a trophy this season on Sunday, but their chances will be as unpredictable as their league season has turned out so far.

Chiefs will clash against the unknown ABC Motsepe League side Free Agents FC in the Nedbank Cup last 32 at the FNB Stadium on Sunday evening (6pm start).

In the midst of the storms and disappointments, the fifth place currently occupied in the Premiership will give the Amakhosi hope, and perhaps kicking things off against a lower division side could just be the lucky roll they need first up.

The Nedbank Cup pins the footballing giants in the country against the minnows, and with the many David versus Goliath battles, the giants are very often neutralised, and Chiefs will know this well with their history in the tournament.

A Bernard Parker extra-time winner against SuperSport United handed Amakhosi a 1-0 win in the 2012/13 season.

But since then, they have not had the best of outings in the tournament, with losses against TS Galaxy (1-0) in 2019 and Milford FC (5-4) on penalties last season.

The Glamour Boys haven’t had their head coach Nasreddine Nabu on the touchline after his red card in the 1-0 loss against Golden Arrows in the Premiership.

But since taking over, assistant coach Khalil Ben Youssef was in charge for the 1-0 win against Sekhukhune United in the league last Sunday.

Speaking on Thursday about Sunday’s cup fixture, the Amakhosi assistant coach is looking forward to his next challenge, and he is not taking their opponents lightly.

“We don’t have a lot of information about this team, but we have prepared our players mentally for this game,” Ben Youssef said.

“It is not easy to play against such teams. We have to be careful when playing cup games, especially playing against a team from the lower division.

“It will be a very difficult game because it is not like playing against your big teams.

“We know what we need to do. We have faced lower-division teams before and we have struggled, but the players know what they need to do.” | Independent Media Sport