Solomons ignores naysayers, says Chiefs will push for Caf spot

The race for second place finish in the DStv Premiership is set to get more intriguing and Kaizer Chiefs defender Dillan Solomons says they will also fight for it. 

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Chiefs, their traditional rivals Orlando Pirates, SuperSport United are in the race to be Mamelodi Sundowns’ ‘bridesmaid’ at the end of the season. 

You can also add Cape Town City in the mix as well. There are seven games to go and with Chiefs fourth in the standings, Solomons believes they can do it. 

Many however have singled out Pirates as the favourites for the spot which guarantees Caf Champions League participation next season.

“People have their opinions and we have to respect that,” said Solomons this week ahead of their crunch match against Stellenbosch FC. 

“But we are not going to pay attention to what is said outside. We know what we have to do to achieve our goal of finishing in second place,” added Solomons.

He insisted that consistency will be very key for them. Chiefs will be looking to make it four wins in a row for the first time this season when they host Stellies at FNB Stadium on Saturday evening.

“We must just keep winning and keep riding this momentum we are on at the moment… 

“We still have to play SuperSport and that is a big one for us. So, if we have to win that one, we will take it from there but every game is important for us at the moment.”

Chiefs momentum broken by Fifa break?

But the momentum that Solomons speaks off could have been disturbed by the recent week-and-a-half Fifa break.

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Solomons’ teammate and Chiefs captain Keagan Dolly however says they are fresher after the little break. 

“I don’t think the break broke our rhythm. We were still working hard at training even though we missed a few key players who were on national team duty. 

“But we were still working hard here at training, we were focused on our next game against Stellenbosch,” said Dolly.

The Chiefs talisman said they needed a few days off football to regain mental strength ahead of the final push to the end of the season.

“I think the break served us well. We got a few days to spend with our families… we got time to reflect and just forget about football. 

“And once we started training again we were fresh, with our minds refreshed and we started focusing again on the game this weekend.”