Kaizer Chiefs’ lengthy casualty list could open the door for a number of so-called fringe players to come into the reckoning when Amakhosi host Maritzburg United at the Harry Gwala Stadium on Friday night.
Depending on the squad assessment, Chiefs coach Zwane may be tempted to promote some of the starlets lighting up the DDC league into the match-day squad to give them some invaluable experience.
Not many teams came back alive from the Friday night razzmatazz at the Harry Gwala Stadium and Chiefs, if they are not careful, may come back empty-handed from this assignment.
“As I mentioned, we have a lot of injuries in the squad so we have to look at how we are going to approach the game because players might share a position but they are not the same and we have our way of doing things,” Zwane told the club’s website.
“It gives other players an opportunity, most definitely. What is key is that we, the technical staff, create competition within the squad, which is what has been happening. I’m not too sure at the moment because we have a lot of injuries. We will see when we start preparations this afternoon as to whether we will be able to give an opportunity to one or two of them,” he said while remaining circumspect, cautioning, “But this is a cup game and we want to go through to the next round,” Zwane added.
The coach is not expecting an easy ride against The Team of Choice, a side that on their day is a match for anybody.
“They are a good team,” he admitted. “They played very well in their last game and were unfortunate to concede a late goal that cost them maximum points, though AmaZulu also played well. But this is going to be a different ball game altogether because of the different approach, and their coach is a good tactician,” noting that since Fadlu Davids took charge, “they have changed their style from how they started, so it is not going to be easy for us going to them with home ground advantage.”
On this occasion, though, home advantage may not be so favourable to the hosts, as Zwane quickly added, “Although we’ll probably have more supporters. They are always there to cheer us on and give us that extra boost. It’s all up to us in terms of making sure we go through to the next round.”
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