Kaizer Chiefs players who have either fallen out of favour or have lost form will get the opportunity to redeem themselves when Amakhosi face Marumo Gallants in the Cufa Cup at the Free State Stadium this afternoon.
The Cufa Cup has replaced the once-popular Macufe Cup, which pitted Amakhosi against Bloemfontein Celtic on the closing day of the cultural and music festival in the City of Roses.
A sold-out crowd is expected in the soccer-crazy Bloemfontein, just like when Amakhosi hosted Tanzanian club Yanga FC in the off-season.
Fired-up Chiefs coach Nasriddine Nabi will be hoping that the likes of Nkosingiphile Ngcobo, Happy Mashiane, Samkelo Zwane, Thatoyaone Ditlhokwe, Pule Mmodi, Tebogo Potsane and Given Msimango will raise their hands and show the technical team and the supporters that they are putting up a fight to regain their places in the team.
While the other players have not had a sniff of game time in the new season, only Zwane got a start in their opening game against the Gallants, and he was pulled out in the second stanza.
Nabi has been lamenting the 20-day long league break due to the MTN8 final and Fifa international calendar disruptions, saying that it may disturb his team’s momentum when they get back to action next weekend.
Chiefs winger Potsane expressed delight at participating in today’s match that attracts people from all walks of life in South Africa and neighbouring countries.
“As someone from Bloemfontein, I am really looking forward to coming back to Bloemfontein for a third time in 10 weeks. We played in front of capacity crowds against Yanga and also faced the Gallants in the league, and supporters did not disappoint.
“We know people of Mangaung love football, and we look forward to another sold-out crowd today,” he said.
A few of the Chiefs’ injured players have been using the time off to recuperate and speed up their return to action.
“Gaston Sirino sustained an abductor muscle injury in the last match, and he is improving nicely, and we expect him to be back in full training within two weeks.
“George Matlou has started running and doing some ball work, and we are looking at a November return for him,” Chiefs physio Dave Milner told the club’s website.
“Edmilson Dove is out of the protective boot and is doing some preliminary walking. We are confident he will be able to start running in November.
“Goalkeeper Brandon Peterson had pins removed from his finger and can start full training immediately,” Milner added.
