Ernst Middendorp Insight
Ernst Middendorp Insight

Posted in News on Oct 13, 2005.

Sitting in the bus after last night’s game on the way back to Johannesburg - I could only but think of our missed chances against Santos, which were plentiful and once again chances from inside the 5-yard box.

Louis Agyemang had a handful of scoring chances and I felt he was just unfortunate not to have been on the score sheet against Santos.

Louis displayed some of his killer instincts particularly from one of the free kicks - where he quickly latched onto the loose ball and struck immediately but was unable to beat the keeper.



I am sure that you - like me - would not want the team to continue drawing and lose further ground on Pirates.

We need to rectify our goal-scoring problem and end this goal drought.

As this is the rainy season we need a flood of goals.

Like I have previously mentioned, we are creating goal-scoring opportunities but we need to take them effectively.

I think that we are resigned to losing Serge Djiehoua for a long time possibly and perhaps forever.

Should he recover he will only start playing again next season so we need some one else to take the responsibility to score goals.

My thoughts are that Louis Agyemang holds the key to unlocking the problem; he is beginning to show signs of the same Louis I worked with in Ghana.

I do feel he was really just unfortunate not to have gotten himself on the score sheet.

The time has come for him to take centre stage and from his performance last night I believe that Louis is ready to take the mantle and start scoring goals.

I do not want to put pressure on him but I do feel that if there is any body who can lift the team up the table it is him.



A lot has been made recently in various newspapers about the departure of Farouk Khan and many people have asked me to respond to his reasons for leaving.

The fact of the matter is that Farouk is a grown man and if he sees things in a different light than me I have no problem with that.

I will wish him well in what ever endeavours he will now be pursuing. One thing I will not do is start a verbal slanging match with

him - we are professionals and if he needs to take up an issue with me he knows my phone number.

Our professional opinions and differences, if there are any, can be solved by us, as I feel that I do not need to engage in a war of words with a fellow colleague, professional coach and I would hope to think a friend. As much as possible I think closure is needed here.

Farouk was a member of our technical team - no matter what has been said. Based on that fact - he was a colleague and in my book saying bad things about your friends is a chapter better left in the incinerator.



On Sunday we have what I can only describe as a tough test of our character and probably the toughest game this season on Moroka Swallows at the Johannesburg Stadium.

There can be no doubting the fact that after they beat Sundowns on Wednesday night away from home, Gavin Hunt will have his team baying for victory over us.

The played well against Sundowns and have shown that they should not be taking lightly.

Swallows have some highly talented players and their midfield pairing of Tsweu Mokoro and Edsai Kasinauyo caused Sundowns a lot of headaches as the pair demonstrated that they can score and create goals.

Mokoro and Kasinauyo have been linking up well with the dangerous Senegalese player Mame Niang, we will devise a plan of keeping this dangerous threesome at bay.



I have said before that sometimes in soccer maybe you need a little more luck than we would like to think, looking at history against Swallows it is very much on our side.

On Sunday lets hope history repeats itself and we win against one of the most improving sides in the league.

The team really appreciated seeing so many of you turn out at Olympia Park in Rustenburg and we would like to see more of you at the Johannesburg stadium on Sunday.

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