Posted in News on Feb 01, 2007.
The Chiefs coach, who along with his Sundowns counterpart Gordon Igesund, attended a joint press conference at the leagues offices in Parktown in Johannesburg on Thursday, will be hoping that his charges - unlike the sleeping journalist - will be wide awake when they come up against defending PSL Champions Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday afternoon.
A lapse in concentration on Saturday afternoon could well mean that Chiefs could end up on the losing end, an eventuality the Middendorp would like to avoid. He confirmed that there will be no slouching around from his team on Saturday afternoon and that they are focused on winning the game.
Ernst Middendorp, while addressing the media said of Saturday’s game, said: “We know Sundowns' capabilities and strengths and they know ours, which will make for an interesting game and we will have to wait and see who gets things right on Saturday”.
The Chiefs coach continued on by adding “from our side there can be no other result than a win, remember Sundowns do have games in hand and this is our opportunity to pull ahead in the championship race.”
He did though concede that there can be no hiding the fact that his team face a tough assignment on Saturday afternoon as he said, “Sundowns are the defending league champions and I am sure they will not want to give up their crown easily. They have been in fine form recently and I do feel that the fact that they are on top of their game and given our recent win will make for a very attacking and exciting game”.
The Sundowns coach, who during the eleven seasons as a coach in the PSL, has faced Chiefs on twenty one occasions. At the helm of five different teams, Ingesund has only ever beaten Chiefs once and is looking to improve his record against The Amakhosi.
“I am not sure how many times I have tasted success against Chiefs in PSL games, I do know that it is not alot although I have drawn a number off games against them. Obviously I would like to improve that record on Saturday but it will not be easy against a team like Chiefs. Playing against Chiefs is never easy and we do not expect it to be this time around either,” said Igesund.
Igesund, who has tasted success in the PSL more than any other coach as he has won three titles with three different teams, did explain that his team are nursing a number of injuries which could see a number of changes to his team for Saturday.
He explained further “Calvin Marlin along with Robyn Johannes will be unavailable to face Chiefs, as they both picked up injuries on the weekend in a CAF Champions league game. Furthermore we got David Kannemeyer and Esrom Nyandoro who have started light jogging on Thursday but they still remain doubtful for the game.”
Gordon further added that Sundowns new trio of signings which include Brazilian signing Fabio Costa, as well as former Ajax Cape Town players Brent Carelse and DR Congo striker Patrick Apataki were unlikely to feature on Saturday.
With a game that good potentially decide in which direction the league will go, both coaches were reluctant to divulge more information than was already public knowledge.
Middendorp looks the more confident of the two coaches and will be hopeful of his team bringing three points back to Naturena on Saturday. This eagerly-anticipated game between two of the most successful teams in the PSL will kick off at 15h45 on Saturday afternoon and will be played at the Vodacom Loftus Stadium in Tshwane.
With tickets selling out fast, fans wishing to attend the game should purchase tickets from their nearest Computicket or Shoprite Checkers outlet. The match is expected to be a sell-out as close on 30 000 tickets had been sold by late Thursday afternoon. Loftus has a capacity of 45 000.
