JOHANNESBURG — Kaizer Chiefs will be hoping to avoid any more slip-ups when they square off against Moroka Swallows in a Soweto derby at Soccer City Stadium on Saturday.
Amakhosi had to come from a goal down to salvage a point against Premier League strugglers Jomo Cosmos at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Wednesday night, allowing Mamelodi Sundowns to stretch their lead at the top to five points.
Chiefs are joint second with SuperSport United on 29 points after 16 league matches while Moroka Swallows who got all three points against Santos on the same night have also collected 29 points, making the derby all the more enticing for fans.
Kaizer Chiefs coach Vladimir Vermezovic, who recently received the backing of the club’s management said:
“We need to dust ourselves off and continue to fight. We do not have a lot of time to relax before our game against Moroka Swallows on Saturday (today). We will go back to the training ground and work on our mistakes. There is a long way to go and we will continue fighting,” said Vermezovic.
The “long way” — 14 remaining league games — means the Dube Birds are also in with a chance to win their first league title. But coach Gordon Igesund has often ruled Swallows out of contention for the title.
Igesund knows all about winning titles and has done so with four different Premier League clubs in Manning Rangers, Sundowns, Orlando Pirates and Santos.
However, the coach is playing his cards close to his chest ahead of the encounter against Amakhosi, preferring to talk about star midfielder David Mathebula.
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“I don’t think there is a player in the country currently like David Mathebula. I think he should be in the Bafana Bafana squad. If I were the coach, he’d be the first name on my list,” said Igesund of the former Chiefs player.
Mathebula might very well be the man to watch tomorrow, with a victory for the Dube Birds likely to take them to second spot if SuperSport stumble against Golden Arrows.
