Chippa United interim coach Dan “Dance” Malesela says the underdogs tag could work out perfectly for his team against PSL log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, at Lucas Moripe Stadium, tonight (kick-off 7.30pm).
Coming off a 1-0 loss against Mpumalanga Black Aces at the weekend, the Chilli Boys will be determined to come back home tomorrow with at least a point for their troubles in back-to-back away games.
On the other hand, Downs will be looking to extend their lead on the log and Malesela is well aware of this.
He said his players will not sit back and let The Brazilians walk all over them.
Chippa’s away record does not look good as they have only secured two victories in seven away matches.
“One of the pluses is that nobody expects us to win against Sundowns,” said Malesela.
“It’s a plus because you do not need to motivate the players to perform well. They just need to know that we need to get this one.
“The biggest aim for us was to get four points but now we can’t have them. We will try to get the three points if we can. If we don’t then it will set us back a bit and the players understand that. We have to get something out of this game. We will give it our best shot.
“Confidence-wise, I don’t think we lack any. The mood in the camp is still good. The players are disappointed at not having won that (Aces) game.”
But the former Cape Town All Stars mentor said they have put their game against Aces behind them. “Saturday’s game is gone and we drew some things out of that. One big lesson is to bury the chances when you have them,” said Malesela.
“I don’t think anybody expected us to be able to dominate Aces that much, particularly in the first half.
“The changes we made did not prove to be good on the day which is a lesson learnt to say who to play and who not to play.”
He said the team had been training hard at fixing their mistakes in preparation for the Sundowns game.
“There are just things in football that the quicker you learn from them the better. You cannot dwell on them or be sad because the results are not going your way.
“It was the first time we had a good first half because we always have a bad first half and then come back in the second half and this was the opposite.
“We just have to look at where we went wrong and what needs to be done. We have identified those areas and we will try and work on them.”
Malesela said he would be making some player changes for tonight’s game which will see the return of Diamond Thopola who was suspended for one game.
“We are pleased that we have Diamond back. He did well in our previous games as a right-back. We will slot him. He is one of the changes we are going to make.
“We will not change much at the top. We will just change in the middle and push some people in the middle closer to scoring and see how things turn out and take it from there.”
Underdogs tag suits Chippa fine
Coming off a 1-0 loss against Mpumalanga Black Aces at the weekend, the Chilli Boys will be determined to come back home tomorrow with at least a point for their troubles in back-to-back away games.
On the other hand, Downs will be looking to extend their lead on the log and Malesela is well aware of this.
He said his players will not sit back and let The Brazilians walk all over them.
Chippa’s away record does not look good as they have only secured two victories in seven away matches.
“One of the pluses is that nobody expects us to win against Sundowns,” said Malesela.
“It’s a plus because you do not need to motivate the players to perform well. They just need to know that we need to get this one.
“The biggest aim for us was to get four points but now we can’t have them. We will try to get the three points if we can. If we don’t then it will set us back a bit and the players understand that. We have to get something out of this game. We will give it our best shot.
“Confidence-wise, I don’t think we lack any. The mood in the camp is still good. The players are disappointed at not having won that (Aces) game.”
But the former Cape Town All Stars mentor said they have put their game against Aces behind them. “Saturday’s game is gone and we drew some things out of that. One big lesson is to bury the chances when you have them,” said Malesela.
“I don’t think anybody expected us to be able to dominate Aces that much, particularly in the first half.
“The changes we made did not prove to be good on the day which is a lesson learnt to say who to play and who not to play.”
He said the team had been training hard at fixing their mistakes in preparation for the Sundowns game.
“There are just things in football that the quicker you learn from them the better. You cannot dwell on them or be sad because the results are not going your way.
“It was the first time we had a good first half because we always have a bad first half and then come back in the second half and this was the opposite.
“We just have to look at where we went wrong and what needs to be done. We have identified those areas and we will try and work on them.”
Malesela said he would be making some player changes for tonight’s game which will see the return of Diamond Thopola who was suspended for one game.
“We are pleased that we have Diamond back. He did well in our previous games as a right-back. We will slot him. He is one of the changes we are going to make.
“We will not change much at the top. We will just change in the middle and push some people in the middle closer to scoring and see how things turn out and take it from there.”
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos