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Arrows ready to play party-poopers when they face jubilant city rivals AmaZulu

Mandla Ncikazi is yet to lose a match as Lamontville Golden Arrows since replacing Steve Komphela at the start of the season but he is concerned because his team is not winning matches either so far.
Mandla Ncikazi is yet to lose a match as Lamontville Golden Arrows since replacing Steve Komphela at the start of the season but he is concerned because his team is not winning matches either so far.
Image: Darren Stewart/Gallo Images

Lamontville Golden Arrows may have struggled to win full points in their last four league matches but coach Mandla Ncikazi is confident of halting the run when they face city rivals AmaZulu at the Kings Park Stadium on Wednesday.

Ncikazi‚ who is yet to taste defeat after replacing Steve Komphela as Arrows head coach in October‚ is feeling rather bullish‚ even though their city rivals have made some pretty impressive acquisitions since businessman Sandile Zungu acquired full ownership of the side before the start of the season.

“We haven’t done badly‚” the Arrows coach said.

“In some matches I felt that we could have won‚ but we never took the chances we created.

"Based on the way we’ve prepared‚ I’m optimistic that we’ll finally get a positive result. I’m hoping that it will happen against AmaZulu.”

Arrows have shared the spoils against Bloemfontein Celtic (1-1)‚ Baroka FC (1-1)‚ Kaizer Chiefs (2-2)‚ TS Galaxy (1-1) and Swallows FC (1-1)‚ with their sole victory in the league coming against SuperSport United (3-1) in their second match of the season.

Facing an Usuthu side that announced former Bafana Bafana striker Benni McCarthy as their new coach on Monday after the departure of Ayanda Dlamini last week‚ Ncikazi admitted that they will come against tough opponents who will be determined to impress the new boos.

McCarthy will not be on the bench and will be watching from the stands.

“It’s going to be a tough one based on a number of factors‚” said Ncikazi.

“The fact that they have appointed Benni McCarthy‚ who is a very good coach and we know his input at Cape Town City‚ we know at (Orlando Pirates) and we know as a prolific striker in this country‚ it’s not going to be easy.

“AmaZulu have recruited very well in the market and they’ve been the busiest team in the market. They recruited top players in their set up.

“Having said that‚ Arrows have got their own model of how they do things. We trust in our processes‚ we trust in the team unity and trust the team spirit.”

There’s been very little separating these Durban sides in the past three seasons since AmaZulu bought their way up to the top flight‚ with both teams claiming two victories each and draws in the other two matches.

But Ncikazi will be encouraged by the fact that his team managed to beat Usuthu 2-1 via a Knox Mutizwa brace in their last league match in an away game in February.

Assistant coach Allan Freese will be on the bench for Usuthu on Wednesday.