Relegation-threatened Chippa under pressure ahead of Arrows tie

Chippa United striker Andile Mbenyane has admitted that the team is under pressure, but he believes they can still save their DStv Premiership status going into their tie with Golden Arrows at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.

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Chippa are at the bottom of the league standings with 29 points going into their last game of the season.

The Chili Boys are level on points with 15th placed Marumo Gallants, who take on Swallows FC. They trail 14th placed Maritzburg United by one point.

Mbenyane says their focus is on winning win their match against Arrows.

“It is really not easy after the results between Maritzburg and Sundowns [Maritzburg and Sundowns drew 1-1 on Tuesday]. As a team, we are under pressure going into the Saturday game against Golden Arrows. But the coach told us not to worry about the other teams’ results. All we need to do is to win on Saturday and then we will see if we survive relegation or go to the play-offs,” said Mbenyane.

“Anyway, we can’t run away from that, even if we win we might go to play-offs. But we must be really strong if we go to the playoffs. We have to fight and work together as a team to make sure we save the status of Chippa United.”

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Mbenyane praised Chippa’s youngsters for their determination in helping the club, especially Aviwe Mqhokozo.

“It is really tough for these youngsters. But as you saw in our last game against Richards Bay, Mqhokozo scored and in the game against TS Galaxy, he played well. It shows that he has a big heart, our youngsters have big hearts to give the team what it is looking for. It’s just a matter of time and maybe we were supposed to give them more chances to play,” he added.