Aces reported that their last match was on December 22 against University of Pretoria in Tshwane and their next assignment will be on Wednesday February 5 at the Mbombela Stadium against fourth-place Moroka Swallows.
The team closed a day after the AmaTuks clash for the Christmas break and returned on Monday, January 6. It will be exactly 30 days without a league match since returning from the break when Aces take on Swallows.
But the veteran coach Clive “The Dog” Barker is taking his Aces squad, including newly signed left full back Innocent Mdledle from SuperSport United, to a five-day long mini camp in Nelspruit to fine tune his team ahead of the resumption of the second round of the season.
“The long break was for almost all the teams so we cannot complain. We returned to training on Monday, January 6 and we are all happy to train hard and be ready for our next match. It is always going to be difficult for any team to play a match having spent the attire month without competitive action in the league,” says the head coach Barker.
“But we have a plan and that is why we’re having this camp in order to keep the squad in good shape before we resume with the business next month against Swallows,” added Barker.
A couple of friendly matches are lined up as well and will be played behind closed doors at the private facility.
The camp is all the more important as the game against Swallows will be a stern test of AmaZayoni’s rustiness early in the second round of the season, something captain Zamuxolo “Eddie” Ngalo also acknowledges.
“Swallows will not be easy team to beat even though we are hosting them in Mbombela. They have so far this season proven to be a great team. We lost away to them in the corresponding fixture and our aim is to get one past them this time around,” noted Ngalo.
“For this reason, we as players are working extremely hard since we returned from the break. The sessions have not been as normal as the other sessions we have had, but I’m positive that it will help us during the second round of the season.”
