How Chiefs can overcome Horoya, Mphahlele has an idea

Kaizer Chiefs are looking for a great start to their Caf Champions League Group C campaign and captain, Ramahlwe Mphahlele knows how they can beat their Guinean opponent, Horoya SC.

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Amakhosi host Horoya at FNB Stadium on Tuesday at 6pm.

Mphahlele said from what he has seen of Horoya, they will have to be at their best and not allow them room to play.

“I’ve watched Horoya when they played (Mamelodi) Sundowns and in their other matches and recently when they played Petro de Luanda of Angola. It is a very good side that we are coming up against, technically good, and tactically sound as well,” said the man known as “Rama” to teammates.

“We have to avoid getting caught because they are very good on the ball. We have to try and not give them space. (But) We will also play our own game, we will not change and sit back just because they are good on the ball.

“We will try to put them under pressure as early as the game starts and try to get an early goal so we can unsettle them. It’s very important that we stay the game well,” explained the 31-year-old.

Rama however decried a lack of proper preparations for the game as they had a challenging DStv Premiership fixture against SuperSport United at the weekend and didn’t have much time between then and Tuesday’s match.

“The games are coming fast and there is no time to rest and we only had one game to prepare for Horoya. But look, we are professionals and this is our job and I think sometimes it’s better to just play football and improve and get better.

“We trained (on Monday) but didn’t do much because of time. But it’s one of those seasons where games are coming back-to-back and we have to prepare ourselves both mentally and physically and do a lot of video analysis to understand who we are playing against.

“The difference between (the domestic) league and Caf is that the domestic game is a bit faster whereas Caf is more physical and more tactical. Most teams rely on set pieces and sit back.

“It’s going to be interesting match, we are playing at home and it’s our first group match. We are looking forward to it. We want to win and get a three points to have a good start. That will give us confidence because we want to progress from the group stages.”

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