Chiefs aim to pounce on wounded Sundowns

Kaizer Chiefs head into their clash against Mamelodi Sundowns best placed to continue their decent start to the season when the two sides clash at the FNB Stadium on Wednesday (7.30pm kick-off).

With Sundowns on the backfoot following their 4-1 loss in penalties against Orlando Pirates in the semi-finals of the MTN8, there is an unfamiliar lack of confidence and momentum surrounding the defending league champions, and Chiefs could be best placed to go into the match a lot more confident than they have in recent meetings.

Amakhosi, together with Sekhukhune United, remain the only unbeaten teams in the league, having won all their matches so far. And while the Brazilians are favourites on paper, the hosts’ current form could prove decisive.

Assistant coach Cedric Kaze believes they are well prepared for this fixture and this could be the right time for them to test themselves against the leagues best side.

“The fixture on Wednesday will be tough but we are all excited to get to the game. Kaze said ahead of the match.

“The week has been good, we last played on Tuesday, we had a whole week of preparation and everything is going well except that there is a flu going around. They are always a worthy opponent to face, but seeing the progress we have made, we want to play those kind of games to see where we are.”

In the middle of their bright start has been development graduate Aiden McCarthy who left the match against Polokwane City with an injury, giving his side a scare as he had seemed to be forming a solid partnership with captain Inacio Miguel.

The central defence was a tough area on the pitch for the Glamour Boys last season, and they are still missing seasoned campaigner Rushwin Dortley to injury.

The Chiefs mentor gave an update on the 21-year-old’s injury and a few of his teammates.

“Aiden hasn’t trained since that day,” Kaze continued.

“The medical staff are working very hard to get him back on the field. we will have to wait and see how he goes on Tuesday to decide whether he will be part of the game or not.

“Other than that we have (Nkanyiso) Shinga and (Bradley) Cross, who have been sick. (Etiosa) Ighodaro was injured two days ago at training, but apart from those, everyone else is well and ready for the game.”

With plenty of options to choose on from the bench, Kaze maintained that their strong start at the top of the league has been key but there is still a lot of areas they need to address and they will slowly integrate new players into the side to ensure they maintain consistency.

“It’s tricky but it’s our everyday job,” Kaze said.

“You have to keep the consistency, we are a team that has won the first three games. I am not saying we have been performing very well because there is always room for improvement.

“But we have to be careful of how you integrate new players in to a team that is getting confident every game, they are getting the job done. As the technical staff we have to be careful to ensure that we keep the momentum of the team, as well as incorporate the new players into the team.

“You also need to keep in mind that the team has been performing at a good level and you don’t want the momentum to change. The season is long with the CAF (Confederations Cup), Nedbank Cup and Carling Knockout, so everyone will get a chance to help the team,” he concluded.