Saturday’s DStv Diski Challenge action is headlined by two Tshwane heavyweights who shared two goals when they met in the first leg of the season. The Mamelodi Sundowns Diski Team will be looking to walk away with the bragging rights when they face the SuperSport United Reserves in the second half of the season, at Tsakane Stadium.
Masandawana head to this derby delight on the back of a victory against Cape Town Spurs and occupying the first position on the DDC standings, having played 22 games matches with 50 points. They will also be heading to the derby without a few of their players, who have been called up for national duty. This means the squad will be consolidated with a few new faces, especially in a festival set up. Coach Themba stated that his charges are ready. He further mentioned that the whole team is upbeat, regardless of not having the full squad.
“It has been a little bit of a difficult week for us because we were under the impression that we would be able to get some of the players that have gone to the national team back, to help us for the match but unfortunately, we have to support the national team and allow them to keep the players for the duration of the camp. This then gives the other players an opportunity to step up,” he stated.
“The team is still very confident. We faced Amazulu a couple of weeks ago without our captain, Ntando Nkosi, Mzwekhaya Nkonxeni and Keabetswe Ramotsei and we did well. Last week we played without Kutlwano Letlhaku who has been doing very well and we got the desired results. The players know what they have to do and they know they are all part of the squad. They have been waiting for their chance and to be honest, they have been doing well. Some of them come in as substitutes and do very well. Saturday gives them an opportunity to fight for their place in the team. I, for one, am looking forward to seeing the team on the pitch,” he continued.
The last time the two sides met, spoils were shared. 22 games later, Coach Themba believes that both teams are more matured and have improved, and looks forward to what he thinks will be an exciting game of football between two good sides.
“It’s a derby and we last played them 22 games ago. Both teams have improved a lot. We are not the same team as we were 22 games ago. There’s a lot of things that we have added in our game. SSU have also improved a lot and you can see a lot of their players getting opportunities in the senior team, so some of them have that senior football experience. It will be an interesting game between two good sides,” he mentioned.
“They have good players and we know what they can do, so for us is to make sure that we play with a lot of control and we don’t allow them to play on transition which is something they are good at. They are able to find the wide players. We have to make sure that we deal with those situations and once we can do that and look after the ball, I think we will be okay. The most important thing will be to play with a lot of control,” he concluded.
The Mamelodi Sundowns Diski Team will be hosted by the SuperSport United Reserves on Saturday afternoon in another festival at Tsakane Stadium. Kick off is scheduled for 15H00, live on SuperSport TV.
