Stellenbosch coach Gavin Hunt has showered Kaizer Chiefs with compliments ahead of facing them in the first round of the Nedbank Cup at Cape Town Stadium tonight (7pm).
Hunt, who had a brief spell at Chiefs between August 2020 and May 2021, said Chiefs’ league form speaks volumes about their recent resurgence, also believing Amakhosi, who are the title-holders of the Ke Yona competition, can win the league as they are currently among the chasing pack.
“It will be a tough game...they [Chiefs] are really in good form. They are a good side and they are much more settled now, they are much more free-flowing and once you’ve won a few games like they’ve won, it gives a little bit of confidence back in the team,” Hunt said of Chiefs yesterday.
“I’ve always said that the league position doesn’t lie. The cups can cloud you...sometimes you can have success in cups, but your league position is where you should be judged and they are doing very well and they could win the league this year.”
Hunt also cautioned his troops that Chiefs are more dangerous on the road than they are in their backyard, the FNB Stadium. Chiefs have won four of their six league away fixtures with two defeats this season.
“I think Chiefs are more dangerous away from home than they are at FNB because they get bigger support away from home, whether it’s Cape Town, PE...they’ve got more people there than they have in their home games, let’s be honest,” Hunt said.
Even so, Hunt told his players to be brave. “We certainly need to play without fear of what Chiefs can bring,” Hunt noted, adding that he foresaw the fixture against Chiefs before the draw was conducted.
“Before the draw was made, I knew we were going to draw one of these teams because we play them in the league in two weeks’ time...it normally works like that. It’s certainly a nice game to play because of the atmosphere and obviously it certainly puts us right into the situation, where we have to be on it.”
Sowetan
