Soweto ‘lions’ to prey on the yellow machine of Mamelodi

The million dollar question that’s on everybody’s lips is who will have bragging rights after Saturday night’s big Absa Premiership clash between Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns.

The mood in the pre-match press conference held at Medshield offices in Randburg summed up what can be expected on the field of play on the day – a high tempo but very tactical game.

“If we cannot win it, we must not lose it either,” was how Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane put it when faced with a barrage of questions as to whether he would predict a win over Chiefs this time around seeing that the team was playing away.

Read: Sundowns let it slip against Bidvest Wits in Absa Premiership at the Bidvest Stadium in Braamfontein

The Brazilians have not had good luck this season playing at home at the 50 000-seater Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria where Amakhosi beat Masandawana 2–1.

Could this then be the revenge match for Sundowns? “Look, we respect Chiefs very much and all other opponents we play against but we’re in it to win it,” Mosimane guardedly replied to the question.

Following their victory in April against the yellow machine in their own backyard, the Soweto glamour boys are confident they can beat the Brazilians for the second time this season.

“I hope for a good game and that Chiefs will come out victorious. I will deliberately not let the cat out of the bag when it comes to playing [Leanardo] Castro as they will plan around him,” Chiefs coach Steve Komphela said in reply to a question of the chances of the Colombian playing against his former team.

“I want to leave Pitso with a nice headache, of whether Castro will play or not,” Komphela added about his newfound striker who formed one of the most feared combinations in South African football while playing for Sundowns.

Castro was part of the fearsome three, better known as the CBD, which was a combination of the lethal strike force of Castro, Khama Billiat and Keagan Dolly.

Komphela likened Chiefs to a pride of lions, saying when “the kings of the jungle set their eyes on a prey, they will get it come what may, and this is Chiefs for you”.

Chiefs skipper and goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune was reminded of his previous nightmare encounter with SuperSport’s marksman Jeremy Brockie when Khune insisted he wanted to keep a clean sheet in Saturday’s game.

Read: Chiefs to draw the crowds at Maize Cup

“Brockie or no Brockie, it’s a keeper’s dream for every match to keep a clean sheet,” said Khune. “I dream of keeping a clean sheet regardless of whether Brockie plays or not on Saturday.”

But Mosimane was quick to douse the fires. “We did not bring Brockie to win the Chiefs match or to put us on top of the log, he found us there. We want him for our African safari in the Champions League as he scored 10 goals on the same journey with SuperSport.”

The match has been dubbed as the clash of two titans of the Gauteng townships of Mamelodi [in Pretoria] versus Soweto [in Johannesburg], and fans can look forward to a scintillating match of football that rivals the famous Soweto derby of Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.