Posted in News on Feb 16, 2007.
Mototo is not phased by having to possibly face the likes of on form Wits striker Julio De Jesus as well as Abram Raselemane and not forgetting the Students latest signing from Cape Town side Santos namely Marwan Bantam. Mototo, who has over the past season and a half shone for Chiefs in the number 33 jersey believes that he is more than ready to take on a Wits team, known for their pace and ability to play at high tempo for ninety minutes.
Speaking about the possibility of having to face up to the talents of De Jesus on Sunday Mototo answered “we have heard that he could miss the game through injury, but should he play we will ensure he is not given the same kind of space he was afforded when we played them earlier in the season”. Mototo furthermore believes that the Brazilian born De Jesus will look to continue from where he left off against Chiefs in September.
This time around the Brazilian striker could well find the going tough “when you play against a striker who is on form as a defender you do not need much motivating, because you are on a high just thinking about playing against him. We might have lost the battle in September but we did gain the upper hand over them in the Telkom Cup, I know that we will be able to keep them at bay once again”.
Chiefs no nonsense defender is of the opinion that Chiefs will be leading to their own downfall should they concentrate only on De Jesus, as the students do possess a number of other players who could make Chiefs Sunday afternoon a very interesting one. Mototo continues on “apart from De Jesus, there is also the threat posed by Abram Raselemane and we know him from his time with SuperSport that he always rises to the occasion when he plays against Chiefs.
In other parts of the field they have Ashley Makhanya who is a very capable defender who is also able to launch attacks for the front men. Overall Wits have a well balanced team starting in goal with Moeneeb Josephs through the defence up to the strikers, remember our old friends Nhlanhla Kubeka and Rene Richards who play for Wits these days will also try and give us a tough outing”.
With Chiefs having lost their last two games Mototo believes that the team needed to do a lot of soul searching, and that Wednesday night’s outing to watch the Proteas in action at the Wanderers has lifted the team’s morale. “Over a few weeks now all we have been hearing is about the games we have lost - going out as a team with our families to the Wanderers was really wonderful as we got spend time in a different environment and learn about a new sport. Usually as a team we see each other on the training ground and then we play matches, so I definitely welcomed the chance opportunity to relax and socialise with my teammates” explained Mototo.
Having watched the Proteas stroll to an easy win on Wednesday evening Mototo believes that Chiefs will return the favour, and come home victorious on Sunday against Wits. A few of the Proteas players are expected to attend The Amakhosi’s game against the students at the Bidvest Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
