Tembo wary of Polokwane City

Kaitano Tembo is worried that the recent history between his SuperSport United side and Polokwane City may haunt Matsatsantsa when they meet in tomorrow’s Telkom Knockout last-16 encounter at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium.

United have left Limpopo with disappointing results in their last four visits, where they are normally hosted by Rise and Shine and neighbours Baroka FC.

“When we played Polokwane the last time we took the lead and they equalised and it is difficult to play them away – we have not won in recent away games against them,” Tembo told the Saturday Citizen.

“Playing during the day in Polokwane is not always easy in summer but I think we are used to it now because we stayed there for a week before the Fifa break and we are now kind of familiar with the weather there,” he added.

The two sides have little to separate them in the Absa Premiership standings as both are tied on 14 points. However, Tembo is confident that his more experienced squad will edge Jozef Vukusic’s Rise and Shine.

“If you look at them in their last six games they haven’t lost, they are a team that has improved gradually. They are coming off a good result of winning against Kaizer Chiefs away from home so they are motivated.

“I think it will take a lot of fight from us but we also have to be disciplined in terms of our planning,” said Tembo.

“We have a really experienced squad which knows how to play matches like these and I hope our experience will come to the fore. But nevertheless, Polokwane are a very difficult team to face and we are not taking this game lightly,” he added.

“A cup game is always difficult and it is an important one for us, but we will go out there and try to do our best and try and get a good result because we want to continue playing in this tournament and it is really important to go through.”

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