Before the arrival of their ‘tsunami derby’ on the weekend of April 2, Malandela Mighty Heroes and Black Poison will have to first overcome other adversaries.
Black Poison will lock horns this Saturday [March 26] in yet another Alex derby with relegation-threatened Amajananda FC at Alexandra Stadium while the AmaKhosi of Alexandra, Malandela, will do battle the following day with another Safa Johannesburg Region side Inter Milan.
The Black Poison coaching duo of Andrew Matjila and Wiseman ‘Pepe’ Nkabini described their pre-Malandela clash with Amajananda as a game against a ‘wounded leopard’ as the team is destined for relegation to Alex Northrand LFA.
“When you clash with a wounded leopard, you must know it will fight to the death, and this is type and calibre of opponent that we shall face in the pre-Malandela match.
“It’s going to be a tough encounter but we are taking each game as it comes. No game is more important than the other to us because we are aiming to bag all the three points at stake in the two remaining games of the [SAB] league,” Matjila said.
Nkabini added, “We will be watching the Malandela/Inter Milan game as much as we know that they too [Malandela] will be closely watching us against Amajananda. We hope to pick up a thing or two in their game that we can use to our advantage.”
Malandela coach Vincent ‘Young Master’ Rammoni echoed Matjila’s words, and said being at the summit of the league for three months was no mean feat. “There must be something they are doing right in their training sessions but we’re also prepared for them.”
He rejected the Alex News notion that Malandela was the team under pressure in the final game as they have been in this league for close to six years.
“Yes, Black Poison found us here and we have long been expected to move up another notch but they too are under pressure by virtue of being the log leaders and they must maintain the standard they have set for themselves.
“We have beaten them in all the derbies of the past three years. Is that not pressure on them as well to make sure they post one over us?” Rammoni questioned.
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