Jonty Mark

By Jonty Mark

Football Editor


Seema cautious despite Chippa win

“We are building something here, we have a young team,” said the Chippa United head coach after seeing his team beat Maritzburg United 3-1.


Lehnohonolo Seema warned that there remains “a long way to go” for his young Chippa United side, but was understandably pleased after they won their first match of the season on Tuesday evening, beating Maritzburg United 3-1 in the DStv Premiership.

READ MORE: Maritzburg United pay the penalty as Chippa storm back to win in PE

Seema’s side recovered from going a goal down at the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium, with Bienvenu Eva Nga netting a hat-trick, including two penalties, to condemn Maritzburg to a fourth successive defeat of the season in all competitions.

“We are building something here, we have a young team,” said Seema.

“Last week we game across a good (Kaizer) Chiefs team and thanks to our goalkeeper (Veli Mothwa) we only lost 1-0, but you could still see signs this team can do something … there is still a long way to go but if we can get results while we are building it will grow our confidence.

“We played a very good Maritzburg side, it is not by luck that they are in the top eight, they can play, we handled them very well. We can enjoy the win, but it is back to the drawing board. There are still a lot of things to work on.”

Chippa will now have an extended break, with the MTN8 semifiinals this weekend followed by an international week.

“I think it is a blessing in disguise … we only had two weeks of preparation (for the new season). The international players will be leaving but the guys who stay here, we will keep working with. We did not get a full pre-season, so (the players) can understand the philosophy and structure and how we want to play.”

 

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