COACHES COLUMN 2014/15

Going into the final game of the season as 2015 NFD Champions is always pleasing and gives great satisfaction knowing we achieved our goal with a game to spare. But this could also have been a very tricky fixture as we had nothing to prove or play for except our pride and maybe upholding our […]

I’m writing this report with tears of joy in my eyes as we achieved our goal of automatic promotion by getting the point we needed to get back to the PSL, With 2 games remaining. Playing our penultimate game at home was the perfect opportunity to wrap up the league in front of our home […]

A consecutive KZN derby in 5 days posed a major hurdle in our quest to secure that automatic promotion. Thanda was always going to be a tough opponent as they needed to bounce back from their defeat against Warriors and ensure they continue their push for a play off place. Underestimating opposition had never been […]

Playing a derby game can be a tricky affair as you never know what type of game it might bring. This game today was a totally different scenario as I’ve never seen rivals go at each other with everything and probably produced one of the most entertaining games for us as a club and fans […]

5 games were standing between us and our goal of automatic promotion back to the PSL.

We started a very tough week yesterday against Maluti FET College where we will be playing 3 games in 8 days. We knew that they would be coming at us with everything but the kitchen sink as they had nothing to lose,as the team looking likely to be relegated. Once again we started the game […]

Playing in the quarter final of the Nedbank Cup vs Supersport was a welcomed distraction from the league as our players have felt the pressure of being at the top of the log the last 10 days. We went into the game with no expectations and enjoy the occasion as no one gave us a […]

Playing our consecutive away game in 5 days was always going to test our player’s fitness as well as mental strength. We started the game much better than our our outing against Witbank Spurs. The tempo and urgency looked improved and we managed to put a few passes together to get into the final third. […]

Finding ourselves at the top of the log after our win against Ga Rankuwa was exactly what we have been working for. But now we have to continue with the same work ethic and commitment that we have shown in our previous 7 games. Witbank Spurs came to Witbank stadium with only 1 thing in […]

Our consecutive KZN derby in the Nedbank Cup meant bragging rights was up for grabs again, be it against lower league opposition Natal Utd. Playing lower league teams always tends to pose more problems as we didn’t know much about them but we had to prepare in the right manner to avoid being eliminated. We […]

Playing teams that are not in direct competition with us for the league title are always more difficult to play as you need to motivate your players much more. A very hot Pretoria welcomed us and we knew that we needed to apply our normal possession game to reserve energy and be patient to expose […]

After drawing our last two games we needed to bounce back with a win against Cosmos, especially being a home game. A top of the table clash always guarantees entertainment for the supporters but the game ws important to us as a ateam for the victory. Going up 1-0 through a magnificent header from Prince […]

Our second game away on the trot was going to be testing after only managing a draw against Warriors in our previous game, as well as Cape based sides being more physical and direct in their playing style. Again, we struggled with our first half performance, we never seemed to find rhythm or momentum and […]

After being on a great run of results and form, we knew the African Warriors encounter will be a tricky one for us. This is a team fighting for survival and you could see their intentions from the very start. Piling on the pressure and creating opportunities to have shots at our goal. The first […]

Playing in the Nedbank Cup is always a welcome relief from the League. This time around though it was as tough as a League game because we were playing our neighbours Amazulu in a KZN derby. We started the game a bit tentative and on the back foot due to some nervous decisions made by […]

After having ended the first round on a good run of 2 games, winning both 2-0, we needed to continue that run and keep the momentum with us against a tough Milano outfit. The conditions in Cape Town were a bit tricky as the wind picked up drastically and made playing difficult. We coped with […]

Playing Cape Town teams are never easy but once again we had to do battle with FC Cape Town today after our win vs Milano. Windy conditions welcomed us at Chatsworth but we didn’t show that it would affect us. Andile Fikizolo got his 2nd goal in as many games with a well taken run […]

Today’s encounter was going to be difficult as both teams won their last 2 games and confidence were high on both sides. We needed to start the game the same way we did vs Highlands as far as tempo and passing accuracy was concerned. The 1st half was definitely a rather frustrating one for the […]

After a much needed win vs Milano in the Nedbank qualifying round it was back to business of league fixtures. The win in the cup definitely improved our confidence and morale in the squad as we came into this game with our tails up. Preparation for today’s game went very well and everyone put their […]

Nedbank Cup Vs Milano United We welcomed the relief from our league fixtures in our qualifying round of the Nedbank Cup 2015 vs Milano at Chatsworth. This was a game that we wanted to use to bounce back from our poor form of late and also to give some fringe players the opportunity to start […]

After our 1st league loss vs Thanda,  we needed to bounce back against Cape Town All Stars who has been in very good form for the past few weeks. All Stars came at us from the very 1st minute with fast attacking play and quick passing  and we also didn’t help our game by giving […]

Going into the game vs Thanda, we knew the importance of a victory after back to back draws against Royal Eagles and Vasco. KZN derbies are always very difficult to call but we have been working on the weaknesses of our opponents and preparation went well leading up to the game. Once again we started […]

Playing in Cape Town is always difficult as you need to adapt to a different playing style as well as weather conditions to endure. Vasco came into the game with some indifferent form but we never underestimated the potential of a backlash. They started the game at a higher tempo the us and should have […]

Going into our 1st KZN derby vs Royal Eagles was always going to be a tough game. We started the game really well by applying pressure in the right areas and even created a few clear opportunities to score. Eagles had the upper hand in stages throughout the 1st half and that was expected as […]

Another great team performance and emphatic win to keep our momentum going. Going into this game we knew the importance of the victory as we needed to keep the top spot on the table and possible create a small gap between us and the rest of the chasing pack. We started in the best possible […]

We had another chance to put the disappointment of the Witbank Spurs result behind us with an improved performance against Baroka. After starting the game a bit slow and conceding our first goal of the season, we showed our character by coming from behind twice. The 2nd half we played without a doubt our best […]

Finding ourselves at the top of the log after our win against Ga Rankuwa was exactly what we have been working for. But now we have to continue with the same work ethic and commitment that we have shown in our previous 7 games. Witbank Spurs came to Chatsworth with only 1 thing in mind […]

The international break is never easy for any coach or club as it normally breaks your momentum. We had 2 weeks to prepare for our game vs Garankuwa United and we’re confident we can continue our fine form. Home games are priority for our promotion and we started the game in the best possible way. […]

Both teams went into this with a certain amount of confidence after picking up wins in their last game respectively. It was a very scrappy game where both teams tried to play their normal passing game but the pitch was not making it possible to do so. We managed to contain them and they quickly […]

We went into the Santos game where our priority was still a win as we needed to keep our momentum and continue to build on what we started. Knowing that we will encounter a good team with a lot of attacking power in Santos, we had to dictate the tempo of the game and also […]

Finally we got our 1st home win and the points we needed to climb up the table. African Warriors was always going to pose a threat with their attacking players. We started the game with a good tempo and fast attacking play. The goal coming from another set play early on in the game and […]

Undefeated in our first 2 games was exactly the start we wanted even though we could not get maximum points in our last game at home vs Milano. Going up against FC Cape Town, who got 7 points from their last 3 games, was always going to be a tough task as they were full […]

Our 1st NFD Home League game vs Milano Utd was always going to be a tough one. We prepared well for this game and we’re expecting a very physical encounter against the Cape side. The foundation we put in place against Black Leopards was something to build on against Milano but the windy conditions also […]

As we started our new campaign in the NFD with our 1st game vs Black Leopards in Thohoyandou,  it gave a very clear indication of how tough this season will be. We had a game plan and our players executed it to perfection with a great team fighting spirit all of us can be proud […]