Ubuntu Cape Town will be without leading striker Ranga Chivaviro when they host Free State Stars in the Nedbank Cup at the Athlone Stadium on Saturday.
Chivaviro has not played for a month through injury after netting 13 goals in all competitions this season‚ but is the only casualty for an Ubuntu side hoping to cause another upset in South Africa’s FA Cup.
“Ranga is still out‚ but basically everyone else is healthy and available‚” Ubuntu coach Casey Prince told reporters on Tuesday.
The National First Division side have already knocked top-flight Polokwane City and AmaZulu out of the Nedbank Cup this season‚ and American coach Prince says the hard-running style of Stars is more like what they see in the second-tier.
“We have watched them plenty‚ they run really hard‚ they are quite direct.
"They are in some ways an off PSL team‚ they seem to play the most differently than the others.
“They play a bit more like the teams in our league‚ direct‚ fast‚ pressure the ball.
"They will be a better version of what we face every week.
“They will be different than Polokwane City and AmaZulu‚ and our challenge is how we respond to that.”
Prince says the players have had a special buzz in the Nedbank Cup this season and he is feeling that again this week in the build-up to the Stars fixture.
But Prince says it will also be the first time the side has played three games in a week‚ with vital NFD clashes against Real Kings the following Tuesday and Super Eagles the week after that.
“The players seem quite excited‚ they know it is a big challenge to play three games in a week‚” he said.
“It is a big challenge for us as coaches to manage them properly and keep them focussed on one match at a time.
“They seem ready‚ they always seem to get excited and jazzed up about the Nedbank Cup.”
Ubuntu are coming off a 3-1 loss to Jomo Cosmos that keeps them in the relegation mix in the second tier.
It ended a run of four wins and a draw in their previous five games and Prince hopes his side will lift themselves this coming weekend.
“We went five positive results in a row‚ but last weekend we were a bit emotionally hungover from the AmaZulu result. We were a bit flat.
“We then dreadfully gave away a goal that was totally our fault and we let Jomo back into a game that I didn’t feel like they were going to be in.
"That was frustrating.”
Underdogs Ubuntu Cape Town spoiling for a fight
Image: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
Ubuntu Cape Town will be without leading striker Ranga Chivaviro when they host Free State Stars in the Nedbank Cup at the Athlone Stadium on Saturday.
Chivaviro has not played for a month through injury after netting 13 goals in all competitions this season‚ but is the only casualty for an Ubuntu side hoping to cause another upset in South Africa’s FA Cup.
“Ranga is still out‚ but basically everyone else is healthy and available‚” Ubuntu coach Casey Prince told reporters on Tuesday.
The National First Division side have already knocked top-flight Polokwane City and AmaZulu out of the Nedbank Cup this season‚ and American coach Prince says the hard-running style of Stars is more like what they see in the second-tier.
“We have watched them plenty‚ they run really hard‚ they are quite direct.
"They are in some ways an off PSL team‚ they seem to play the most differently than the others.
“They play a bit more like the teams in our league‚ direct‚ fast‚ pressure the ball.
"They will be a better version of what we face every week.
“They will be different than Polokwane City and AmaZulu‚ and our challenge is how we respond to that.”
Prince says the players have had a special buzz in the Nedbank Cup this season and he is feeling that again this week in the build-up to the Stars fixture.
But Prince says it will also be the first time the side has played three games in a week‚ with vital NFD clashes against Real Kings the following Tuesday and Super Eagles the week after that.
“The players seem quite excited‚ they know it is a big challenge to play three games in a week‚” he said.
“It is a big challenge for us as coaches to manage them properly and keep them focussed on one match at a time.
“They seem ready‚ they always seem to get excited and jazzed up about the Nedbank Cup.”
Ubuntu are coming off a 3-1 loss to Jomo Cosmos that keeps them in the relegation mix in the second tier.
It ended a run of four wins and a draw in their previous five games and Prince hopes his side will lift themselves this coming weekend.
“We went five positive results in a row‚ but last weekend we were a bit emotionally hungover from the AmaZulu result. We were a bit flat.
“We then dreadfully gave away a goal that was totally our fault and we let Jomo back into a game that I didn’t feel like they were going to be in.
"That was frustrating.”
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