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Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Sibongiseni “Ox” Mthethwa has made it known that Amakhosi are fighting to be at the top of the Betway Premiership.
Amakhosi face Golden Arrows, who eliminated them from the MTN8 in the quarterfinals last month, in the league at Mbombela Stadium on Sunday (3pm).
Chiefs drew 1-all away to Polokwane City last Saturday, and Mthethwa has insisted that they can’t drop points in two matches in a row as they target that first spot on the table. Chiefs are third, seven points behind leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, who have played two more games.
“We made some costly mistakes in the last game, so this is a perfect chance for us to rectify that. We are competing for the first spot, so we can’t afford to drop points in two consecutive games,” Mthethwa said, adding that revenge wasn’t on their minds against Abafana Bes’thende after the MTN8 heartache.
“We’ve played against Arrows already this season, so our mindset has changed towards them. We are not aiming for revenge, but we are going there to fight. We want to climb up the log standings, so we want nothing less than three points on Sunday.”
“Ox”, as Mthethwa is nicknamed, is also convinced that playing Arrows at a neutral venue, Mbombela, won’t have any impact on Amakhosi, asserting they “feel home everywhere”, thanks to their large fan base.
“It doesn’t matter where we play, the most important thing is three points. The most important thing for us as Kaizer Chiefs is to dominate each and every game we play regardless of the venue,” the Chiefs midfielder said.
“We feel at home everywhere...we always have that home ground advantage. We want to make our supporters happy by bagging three points.”
Amakhosi will be without their skipper Brandon Petersen after suffering a knee injury during training on Tuesday morning. The goalkeeper, who had come under scrutiny amid costly errors in recent games, will be sidelined for an estimated four to six weeks, while striker Wandile Duba is also expected to spend two weeks on the sidelines after picking up a hip and groin injury.
In Petersen’s absence, Renaldo Leaner is expected to start in goal for Chiefs on Sunday.
Fixtures
Tomorrow: Bay vs Sekhukhune, Princess Magogo Stadium (3pm); Polokwane vs AmaZulu, Old Peter Mokaba (5.30pm); Kruger vs Stellenbosch, Mbombela (8pm)
Sunday: Arrows vs Chiefs, Mbombela (3pm); Milford vs Durban, Sugar Ray (3pm); Gallants vs Pirates, Royal Bafokeng (3pm); Galaxy vs Chippa, Solomon Mahlangu (5.30pm).
Fifa Intercontinental Cup fixture
Tomorrow: Sundowns vs Al Ahli Saudi, Loftus Versfeld (3pm).
Sowetan
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