Chippa United will have to dig deep in their remaining two matches of the season if they are to achieve their ambition of a top eight finish.
This after they played to a boring goalless draw with Golden Arrows at the Buffalo City Stadium at the weekend.
However, head coach Dan “Dance” Malesela, who when asked about his future at the club – which has been a subject of much speculation – said he had signed a three-year contract with Chippa and was confident his side will finish the season within the top eight bracket.
“We will . As long as we force teams to defend like we did to Arrows it means we are doing something right,” he said.
“If we continue doing what we have done so far in the season, it says a lot about us.”
The Chilli Boys take on Orlando Pirates at the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro Stadium on Wednesday before travelling to FNB to finish off the campaign against Kaizer Chiefs next weekend.
If Chippa are to finish in the top eight, they will at least need three points from the two matches.
Malesela said the focus, as of today, was fully on the Bucs match, one that he thinks his side can win.
“I think Pirates will play an open game and we will get the result against them,” he said.
But if this is to be the case, Chippa will have to do better than they did against Arrows in what was a match they could have collected maximum points with ease had they been more aggressive.
Against Abafana Bes’thende, the Eastern Cape outfit did not have luck creating clear-cut scoring opportunities, bar the only chance of the match when Xola Mlambo fired a thunderous strike from outside the opposition’s penalty box, but Arrows goalkeeper Maximilian Mbaeva pulled a brilliant save as he pushed the ball over the cross bar.
According to Malesela, Chippa, especially in the closing stanza, were let down by poor decision-making in their attacks.
“In the second half we got a little desperate. We rushed and instead of making the right pass to the right person, we did not.”
Malesela’s counterpart, Clinton Larsen, was happy with how his team defended, saying this frustrated the home side.
The articulate Larsen opined: “A lot of play was in the middle third and their (Chippa) fans were getting frustrated because their team could not break us down.
“The conditions were difficult for our players and they could not settle and I am very disappointed that when we won the ball, we gave it back to them .”
The Durban side now shift their focus to their next match against relegation-threatened Jomo Cosmos billed for Princess Magogo Stadium on Wednesday before closing their season with a visit to another relegation candidate in the form of University of Pretoria.
“Two tough games, both opponents at the bottom of the log and fighting for their lives, which means it is going to be difficult for us,” said Larsen.
“We, however, have aspirations of finishing inside the top eight and getting maximum points in those two matches gives us a big chance of achieving that.”
Chippa believe top 8 spot is possible
This after they played to a boring goalless draw with Golden Arrows at the Buffalo City Stadium at the weekend.
However, head coach Dan “Dance” Malesela, who when asked about his future at the club – which has been a subject of much speculation – said he had signed a three-year contract with Chippa and was confident his side will finish the season within the top eight bracket.
“We will . As long as we force teams to defend like we did to Arrows it means we are doing something right,” he said.
“If we continue doing what we have done so far in the season, it says a lot about us.”
The Chilli Boys take on Orlando Pirates at the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro Stadium on Wednesday before travelling to FNB to finish off the campaign against Kaizer Chiefs next weekend.
If Chippa are to finish in the top eight, they will at least need three points from the two matches.
Malesela said the focus, as of today, was fully on the Bucs match, one that he thinks his side can win.
“I think Pirates will play an open game and we will get the result against them,” he said.
But if this is to be the case, Chippa will have to do better than they did against Arrows in what was a match they could have collected maximum points with ease had they been more aggressive.
Against Abafana Bes’thende, the Eastern Cape outfit did not have luck creating clear-cut scoring opportunities, bar the only chance of the match when Xola Mlambo fired a thunderous strike from outside the opposition’s penalty box, but Arrows goalkeeper Maximilian Mbaeva pulled a brilliant save as he pushed the ball over the cross bar.
According to Malesela, Chippa, especially in the closing stanza, were let down by poor decision-making in their attacks.
“In the second half we got a little desperate. We rushed and instead of making the right pass to the right person, we did not.”
Malesela’s counterpart, Clinton Larsen, was happy with how his team defended, saying this frustrated the home side.
The articulate Larsen opined: “A lot of play was in the middle third and their (Chippa) fans were getting frustrated because their team could not break us down.
“The conditions were difficult for our players and they could not settle and I am very disappointed that when we won the ball, we gave it back to them .”
The Durban side now shift their focus to their next match against relegation-threatened Jomo Cosmos billed for Princess Magogo Stadium on Wednesday before closing their season with a visit to another relegation candidate in the form of University of Pretoria.
“Two tough games, both opponents at the bottom of the log and fighting for their lives, which means it is going to be difficult for us,” said Larsen.
“We, however, have aspirations of finishing inside the top eight and getting maximum points in those two matches gives us a big chance of achieving that.”
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