Heading into their Telkom Knockout quarterfinal against Highlands Park at Harry Gwala Stadium tomorrow (8.15pm), Maritzburg United may have to soldier on without key strikers Yannick Zakri and Andrea Fileccia.

While he prays that the duo pass their late fitness assessments, Maritzburg coach Fadlu Davids sounded optimistic that the Team of Choice can go to battle without Zakri and Fileccia, emphasising that they do not solely rely on strikers for goals.

The KwaZulu-Natal-based outfit has, however, been misfiring this term as they have only scored twice in seven league outings.

They also did not score in the MTN8.

"We will do late fitness tests with Zakri and Fileccia hoping that they are fit for the match," Davids said yesterday.

"Fileccia has a hip problem while Zakri has a groin strain. We do not put too much pressure on the strikers to score goals. I believe we have enough quality in the team to carry on even without them.

"It's like we do not compliment only our defenders and the goalkeeper for having the best defence in the league [they have only conceded four in seven games]. It's team effort. Sometimes we play without a striker and win. We depend on all the players to score goals."

High in confidence after scoring the only goal to give Maritzburg their maiden victory this season over Bloemfontein Celtic last month, versatile midfielder Bandile Shandu has warned his teammates against underestimating Highlands Park.

Shandu said: "Before winning our first match of the season, the mood was not that good in the camp.

"But after beating Celtic our morale was boosted."