Bizana Pondo Chiefs head coach Tshepo Motsoeneng believes squad rotation will be key to keeping his side fresh in the GladAfrica Championships.
Chiefs picked up all three points when they overcame Steenberg United 2-1 last Wednesday to record their first victory in the competition.
The win comes on the back of a 2-0 defeat to Cape Town All Stars at Parow Park Stadium last Sunday to give them a much needed confidence boost.
Motsoeneng says his side made the game difficult for themselves at certain points but was happy that they managed to secure all three points.
“We should have been five-nil up in the first half, no disrespect to the opposition. I felt we had more clear chances which we missed.
“In the second half, people always complain when there is a penalty. I also complain, the ref, this and that [sic].
“In football, take your chances, then you cannot complain about the ref giving a penalty in the last minutes.
“We are learning from our mistakes. We have been conceding in the last minutes, the critical phase. Against Steenberg, we scored in the critical phase which means we are improving as a club,” he said.
The Eastern Cape side have collected four points from the four games and Motsoeneng believes this could play to their advantage, with other teams playing a match more.
The ambitious leader said 2020 had been a challenging year in how they started the league campaign but was optimistic about the future.
“It’s been wonderful, to be honest. To gain promotion and play where we wanted to play where we set our target.
“We did not have the start we would have liked but this is a different division all together so we are saying we will adapt and adjust,” he said.
“Bear in mind, the team that played in the playoffs is the same team that played today, so fatigue has started to creep in a little bit.
“We will need to refresh the team a bit by resting some players and bringing in others, not signing.
“The hope is that they will also gel and bring us something going forward,” Motsoeneng said.
With their next game against mid-table Umthongathi Football Club at the King Goodwill Zwelithini Stadium on Saturday, the Bizana based outfit will be itching to keep the momentum going and get their campaign moving in the right direction.
“We have lost two away games this season. Some would say it's fine and we are expected to lose away even though we don’t want to lose.
“At home, we have a draw and a win so that is a good start. We can fight going forward because we have only played four games, people have played more.
“The next game is a derby and we want to go home and refresh as quickly as possible, get back, grind and make sure we get the three points at home so when we go away we will have three points in the bag. That’s how we want to approach the season,” he said.
HeraldLIVE
Squad rotation key to keeping things fresh, Pondo Chiefs coach says
Sports reporter
Image: GALLO IMAGES/ LEFTY SHIVAMBU
Bizana Pondo Chiefs head coach Tshepo Motsoeneng believes squad rotation will be key to keeping his side fresh in the GladAfrica Championships.
Chiefs picked up all three points when they overcame Steenberg United 2-1 last Wednesday to record their first victory in the competition.
The win comes on the back of a 2-0 defeat to Cape Town All Stars at Parow Park Stadium last Sunday to give them a much needed confidence boost.
Motsoeneng says his side made the game difficult for themselves at certain points but was happy that they managed to secure all three points.
“We should have been five-nil up in the first half, no disrespect to the opposition. I felt we had more clear chances which we missed.
“In the second half, people always complain when there is a penalty. I also complain, the ref, this and that [sic].
“In football, take your chances, then you cannot complain about the ref giving a penalty in the last minutes.
“We are learning from our mistakes. We have been conceding in the last minutes, the critical phase. Against Steenberg, we scored in the critical phase which means we are improving as a club,” he said.
The Eastern Cape side have collected four points from the four games and Motsoeneng believes this could play to their advantage, with other teams playing a match more.
The ambitious leader said 2020 had been a challenging year in how they started the league campaign but was optimistic about the future.
“It’s been wonderful, to be honest. To gain promotion and play where we wanted to play where we set our target.
“We did not have the start we would have liked but this is a different division all together so we are saying we will adapt and adjust,” he said.
“Bear in mind, the team that played in the playoffs is the same team that played today, so fatigue has started to creep in a little bit.
“We will need to refresh the team a bit by resting some players and bringing in others, not signing.
“The hope is that they will also gel and bring us something going forward,” Motsoeneng said.
With their next game against mid-table Umthongathi Football Club at the King Goodwill Zwelithini Stadium on Saturday, the Bizana based outfit will be itching to keep the momentum going and get their campaign moving in the right direction.
“We have lost two away games this season. Some would say it's fine and we are expected to lose away even though we don’t want to lose.
“At home, we have a draw and a win so that is a good start. We can fight going forward because we have only played four games, people have played more.
“The next game is a derby and we want to go home and refresh as quickly as possible, get back, grind and make sure we get the three points at home so when we go away we will have three points in the bag. That’s how we want to approach the season,” he said.
HeraldLIVE
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