We are looking to march on in the Coca Cola Cup Final and our current objective is to get to the semifinals.

We need to show the same spirit and fight that we did against Orlando Pirates. The performance against Pirates needs to be a benchmark for us and we need to consistently play the way we did on Saturday.

Our aim is to try and be more fruitful in attack and remain disciplined at the back - the key to our success against Cosmos will be up to the way we keep our shape at the back. I have previously said that we have the tendency to be wasteful in attack.

Against Cosmos we will need to capitalize on the early chances we have and from there dictate the pace of the game.

Cosmos are an improving team - they had an emphatic 3-0 victory over Super Sport United on Wednesday evening and from what I saw there we are not expecting a walk in the park.

Andrew Rabutla played well against Super Sport and putting behind us whatever has been said in the past he is a strong defender and showed that he can also pose an aerial threat.

Mamadou Diallo and Anthony Lafore are other Cosmos players who are no slouches on the field and will try to make our life very tough in the last quarter. With all that said we are confident of a positive result and are looking to score another morale boosting victory which will carry us into the semifinals.

The team has obviously been in high spirits after what the media has been describing as our unexpected victory over Pirates.

This was not unexpected to the players as they had confidence in themselves of causing an upset. Every player is motivated and each one is posing a problem for me.

It is a problem that any coach would want and that is to have a fit squad with so many going through a purple patch.

On the injury front Fabian McCarthy is out with a hamstring problem - he would have missed Sunday’s game through suspension any way.

We expect him to be fit for our game against Silver Stars on the 16th of November.

Ntokozo Sikhakhane has recovered from a hamstring injury he picked up in our 2-1 Coca Cola Cup first round victory of Classic a fortnight ago; he will be available for selection, so to is Scara Ngobese who comes back after missing the Pirates game through suspension.

I would also like to congratulate Cyril Nzama for coming back from his injury without showing any signs that he did not play first team football for six months.

His recent good run has not gone unnoticed and I am happy to see he has been called up for the National Team to play against Senegal on the 12th November in the Nelson Mandela Inauguration. Also congratulations to Jimmy Tau who gets another call up to the National Team set up.

Rowen Fernandez has also received a recall - they have put in a lot of hard work and deserve to be in the team.

Once again thank you all for your support and encouragement before and after the game against Orlando Pirates, remember we have an equally important game this weekend.

We want to progress all the way to the Final of the Coke Cup so we will need you to be out in full force on Sunday in Rustenburg.

Keep supporting, keep smiling

Yours in victory

Ernst Middendorp


Kaizer Chiefs Head Coach