Kaizer Chiefs will be hoping to pick up the pieces after they were eliminated out of the MTN8 semi-finals in heartbreaking fashion by Mamelodi Sundowns last Saturday.
Chiefs will get an opportunity to redeem themselves and get their DStv Premiership campaign back on track when they face Sekhukhune United at the Moses Mabhida Stadium tonight at 7pm.
Chiefs supporters are still crying about a couple of penalty decisions that were supposed to be awarded to their team by referee Luxolo Badi, who ignored the calls. Chiefs were bundled out of the competition with an aggregate 3-2 after two legs. The first leg was drawn at 1-1 at FNB Stadium, while Sundowns won the second leg in 2-1 in Atteridgeville.
One Chiefs player who is working hard and having a wonderful season is Ashley du Preez, who scored against the Brazilians last week. The former Stellenbosch FC striker is still feeling the disappointment deeply, and believes an all-round improvement is needed if they are to end their silverware drought.
“It’s very tough, it’s still hurting. I think we had a massive opportunity to put our hands on the trophy and make history,” Du Preez said of the MTN8 loss.
“It didn’t happen and we are very hurt about it. It’s going to be tough to move on, because we know we haven’t won a trophy in years and we really wanted to change that, especially to make the fans happy. We failed them and we failed the club,” he added.
“But, there is still a lot to play for and this must be a learning experience for us, which we must take into our next games by winning every weekend. Only that will make us feel better as a Club, and as supporters.”
The 26-year-old will not underestimate the visitors from Limpopo, although his attention is directed more at his own, and his team’s objectives in implementing their game plan.
“Sekhukhune are a tough team, they are physical and they can also play,” he admitted, “But from our side, coming off a setback, we can go into this game to get rid of our frustrations. We must go out there and get the three points, and I will be determined to convert any chances that come my way. I think this is a game where we can show our will to win, our resilience, the hunger in the mentality of every player, and do the job. If we win our individual battles, we’ll get the points. So I am more focused on what we must do than on them,” he concluded.
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