City coach banks on Chiefs' poor form
TYPICAL of a relegation-threatened side, Polokwane City coach Boebie Solomons is hoping Kaizer Chiefs' dip in league form continues at Peter Mokaba Stadium tonight.
The defending champions have suffered back-to-back defeats in the Absa Premiership, surrendering the top spot to title rivals Mamelodi Sundowns, but with a game in hand.
Solomons said yesterday their status as relegation candidates would not mean the clash will be a walkover for Amakhosi, who thumped them 4-1 in the reverse fixture five months ago.
"We stand an equal chance to win because I think right now our position makes us a very dangerous opponent. In my opinion, we always play well enough to win, but we have been let down by our concentration and not taking our chances. We have since improved from our last game against Chiefs. I think we have grown in maturity, status and self-belief. We have learnt some very big lessons."
City avoided defeat in their three previous league matches - squeezing in a vital victory in one of them. It is some improvement after the PSL rookies lost seven games in a row until March 29, when they got their first point in four weeks.
Amakhosi would have learnt lessons of their own following 1-0 defeats to Sundowns and Black Aces, and their coach Stuart Baxter said he needed his players to get their heads back in the game.
"It's absolutely vital that we meet every challenge head on, that we are not drifting away into a cup final or a CAF game somewhere along the line. How we solve this is to be here and now.
"I'm guessing that the two hiccups we've had, both have come not from tactics or tactical things, but mainly because we didn't finish our chances or maybe anxiety and lack of focus. And we didn't keep our discipline to the last five or six minutes of the game," said Baxter.
Chiefs progressed to the semifinals of the Nedbank Cup after beating SuperSport United 2-0 on Saturday , thanks to goals by George Lebese.
It's from that win that Baxter draws confidence that the slump is behind them.