Chippa United interim coach Dan “Dance” Malesela rewarded his players after their 2-1 win over Jomo Cosmos with two days of leave to help recharge their batteries ahead of their clash against Bloemfontein Celtic.
The Chilli Boys play ninth-placed Celtic in a Premier Soccer League fixture at Free State Stadium on Sunday (kick-off 3.30pm).
The coach said he needed to give his players some rest after the intensive travelling last week which ended with his team edging Cosmos in East London on Sunday.
The Port Elizabeth-based side played two consecutive away matches and lost both, the most recent of those defeats a 3-0 beating at the hands of log-leaders Mamelodi Sundowns.
However, Chippa managed to pull one in beating Cosmos and the win has placed them sixth on the log with 25 points from 18 games.
Chippa seem to be bad travellers. The team has only two wins from eight away games. The other six have resulted in losses.
The former Cape Town All Stars coach said his players needed to have mental stability and strength when playing away.
“If we could win against (Golden) Arrows why not against Celtic? Why not against other teams?
“We also were very unfortunate against (Mpumalanga Black) Aces. So I think it’s just a myth that we must get over,” said Malesela.
Chippa’s players return to training today in preparation for the clash against Siwelele.
They will look to sharpen up their defensive and striking force before hitting the road, aiming to continue with their winning form.
Despite the victory on the weekend the former Orlando Pirates player said there was still a lot of fixing needed in the team.
“We have to be better organised at the back, pick up a little more individuals and man-marking must improve.
“Also we need to see how do we get ourselves organised in the middle in terms of picking up the second ball.
“Also a bit of discipline in saying how many times do we leave the middle empty? Going forward the combinations are a bit scrappy sometimes but generally we are not bad. We are picking up fine,” said Malesela.
Chilli Boys get to recharge the batteries
The Chilli Boys play ninth-placed Celtic in a Premier Soccer League fixture at Free State Stadium on Sunday (kick-off 3.30pm).
The coach said he needed to give his players some rest after the intensive travelling last week which ended with his team edging Cosmos in East London on Sunday.
The Port Elizabeth-based side played two consecutive away matches and lost both, the most recent of those defeats a 3-0 beating at the hands of log-leaders Mamelodi Sundowns.
However, Chippa managed to pull one in beating Cosmos and the win has placed them sixth on the log with 25 points from 18 games.
Chippa seem to be bad travellers. The team has only two wins from eight away games. The other six have resulted in losses.
The former Cape Town All Stars coach said his players needed to have mental stability and strength when playing away.
“If we could win against (Golden) Arrows why not against Celtic? Why not against other teams?
“We also were very unfortunate against (Mpumalanga Black) Aces. So I think it’s just a myth that we must get over,” said Malesela.
Chippa’s players return to training today in preparation for the clash against Siwelele.
They will look to sharpen up their defensive and striking force before hitting the road, aiming to continue with their winning form.
Despite the victory on the weekend the former Orlando Pirates player said there was still a lot of fixing needed in the team.
“We have to be better organised at the back, pick up a little more individuals and man-marking must improve.
“Also we need to see how do we get ourselves organised in the middle in terms of picking up the second ball.
“Also a bit of discipline in saying how many times do we leave the middle empty? Going forward the combinations are a bit scrappy sometimes but generally we are not bad. We are picking up fine,” said Malesela.
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