EC Bees captain George Gawe says no matter what happens during their Nedbank Cup clash against Mamelodi Sundowns, spectators will be treated to 90 minutes of entertaining and high-tempo football.
Bees will take on the Chloorkop giants for their Nedbank Cup last 16 stage at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Tuesday.
Gawe said the Bhisho-based outfit was ready for the Brazilians and the good thing was that there were no injuries in the team.
“Everyone is focused on this game and we’ll go out there to play and enjoy ourselves because we have nothing to prove to Sundowns.
“We are just going to do our own thing and play our normal game there,” said Gawe.
He acknowledged that this was by far their toughest match since their encounter with Orlando Pirates in last season’s instalment of the very same tournament in the last 32 teams stage, where the “Crazy Gang” went down 3-1 at Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane.
“We’re expecting things to be very tough because we are going up against a team with big names like Percy Tau, Themba ‘Mshishi’ Zwane and others,” said Gawe.
“But I’m sure we’ll be able to maintain them because they are people like us with two legs and a brain to play.
“And we are motivated to a point where we could even face them now.”
The experienced left-back said they also aimed to overcome the stage-fright of playing in the Arcadia venue, which has a capacity of more than 51000 spectators.
He said in the past, large crowds had affected their communication on the ground but they had now mastered their movements on the pitch.
“Unlike Sundowns, we need to be on high alert because they’re used to communicating in front of a bigger crowd,” said Gawe.
“Like moving from one position to another is one of their strong points but we have been paying attention to that as well, so I’m confident that we’ll cope under the circumstances.
“Even the young guys have upped their socks and almost everyone in the team has gotten game time since the season began, even the guys from the smaller division – they have been doing quite well for the team. So I don’t think it will be difficult for them to adapt in this game, because even in the league we have managed to maintain third position with our busy schedule.”
Gawe said being able to reach the last 16 teams stage of the lucrative tournament was a big deal to the team, especially since they had lost talented players such as Siyabonga Razor Booi and Siyabulela Shai.
“We are fortunate because the chairman is so supportive to us and he has not put us under any kind of pressure and that has helped us keep calm and collected.
“But we still believe we can catch-up with the league log-leaders if we put our heads to that but we just need to focus on this tournament for now,” said Gawe.
“... if we don’t win the league, we can always do it next year.”
Bees will not be overawed by mighty Downs
Bees will take on the Chloorkop giants for their Nedbank Cup last 16 stage at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Tuesday.
Gawe said the Bhisho-based outfit was ready for the Brazilians and the good thing was that there were no injuries in the team.
“Everyone is focused on this game and we’ll go out there to play and enjoy ourselves because we have nothing to prove to Sundowns.
“We are just going to do our own thing and play our normal game there,” said Gawe.
He acknowledged that this was by far their toughest match since their encounter with Orlando Pirates in last season’s instalment of the very same tournament in the last 32 teams stage, where the “Crazy Gang” went down 3-1 at Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane.
“We’re expecting things to be very tough because we are going up against a team with big names like Percy Tau, Themba ‘Mshishi’ Zwane and others,” said Gawe.
“But I’m sure we’ll be able to maintain them because they are people like us with two legs and a brain to play.
“And we are motivated to a point where we could even face them now.”
The experienced left-back said they also aimed to overcome the stage-fright of playing in the Arcadia venue, which has a capacity of more than 51000 spectators.
He said in the past, large crowds had affected their communication on the ground but they had now mastered their movements on the pitch.
“Unlike Sundowns, we need to be on high alert because they’re used to communicating in front of a bigger crowd,” said Gawe.
“Like moving from one position to another is one of their strong points but we have been paying attention to that as well, so I’m confident that we’ll cope under the circumstances.
“Even the young guys have upped their socks and almost everyone in the team has gotten game time since the season began, even the guys from the smaller division – they have been doing quite well for the team. So I don’t think it will be difficult for them to adapt in this game, because even in the league we have managed to maintain third position with our busy schedule.”
Gawe said being able to reach the last 16 teams stage of the lucrative tournament was a big deal to the team, especially since they had lost talented players such as Siyabonga Razor Booi and Siyabulela Shai.
“We are fortunate because the chairman is so supportive to us and he has not put us under any kind of pressure and that has helped us keep calm and collected.
“But we still believe we can catch-up with the league log-leaders if we put our heads to that but we just need to focus on this tournament for now,” said Gawe.
“... if we don’t win the league, we can always do it next year.”
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