Chippa United coach Clinton Larsen believes a “keeping it simple” strategy against Kaizer Chiefs will be the tonic needed to see his team through to the Nedbank Cup final.
The Chilli Boys face Amakhosi in a much-anticipated semifinal at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday night and go into the game as underdogs.
But, they will take comfort in the fact that they have seen off teams like Mamelodi Sundowns and Bidvest Wits when nobody else gave them much of a chance.
“In terms of approach, the game is going to be very simple. To shut out Kaizer Chiefs’ attack and use our offensive players to pose a huge threat to that Chiefs’ defence, who we feel can be very vulnerable at times,” Larsen said during a media briefing on Thursday.
“So, we are going to expect our attacking unit to really put this Chiefs team under pressure and hopefully as a result, score the goals that can see us through.”
Chippa made their way to the semifinals by beating Wits 5-3 on penalties. The game ended in a 4-4 deadlock after extra time.
Winning Saturday’s fixture will be of utmost importance to the team as it would see them participate in their first cup final since joining the top-flight of South African football.
They realise though that to achieve this they will still have get over a hurdle in the form of the Soweto Giants.
“We know it is not going to be easy. There are no easy games in the PSL, but we have proven this season that we can beat the top teams and we will draw a lot of inspiration from that.
“We have done it against Sundowns and Wits, albeit in a very hard way.
“We believe at this moment we are one of the form teams in the league, bar the results against Wits, Black Leopards and SuperSport United in the league.
“We do believe that we have a strong squad that is playing good football. We are looking forward to what is going to be a very difficult game and we are confident in our preparations so far.”
Larsen has tasted cup success as a player for Manning Rangers and Orlando Pirates. He also won the Telkom Cup in 2013 as the coach of Bloemfontein Celtic.
Asked if he would like to add another string to his impressive bow, Larsen said: “No, for me it’s not important. I always say that the stars of the show are the players, not the management and the coaches. It’s the players who go out there and perform and entertain the country.
“So for me, by them doing well and winning the cup it’s just another accolade.”
The coach said he was very fortunate to have the calibre of players he has in his squad at the moment...