Chiefs defender Reeve Frosler says they can surprise Simba SC
Kaizer Chiefs’ utility defender Reeve Frosler says they’ve got a chance to surprise Tanzanian team Simba SC in the first leg of the Caf Champions League quarterfinal tie at the FNB Stadium on Saturday.
A win for Amakhosi‚ who were surprise first time entrants to the last 8 of this year’s competition‚ will earn them a home semi-final second leg against the winners between MC Alger of Algeria or Wydad Athletic of Morocco.
Chiefs earned their ticket to the last eight after holding Guinean giants Horoya SC to 2-2 draw away last month after they managed to beat Wydad and Petro de Luanda of Angola at home.
The 23-year-old Frosler featured in all the group stages matches‚ playing the full 90 minutes in five of the six matches‚ sometimes plays on the right or left of Gavin Hunt’s team defence.
“I think we’ve got a good chance because nobody knew much about us in terms of Caf experience. So we are regarded as underdogs‚” Frosler of their form in the Champions League.
“So we’ll stay as underdogs and we’ll just keep doing our best and you’ll never know.
“As we’ve seen in this Caf competition‚ it’s unpredictable and anybody can win on the day‚ ja you never know what could happened.”
The Chiefs defender‚ however‚ acknowledged that in Simba they face a team with a better recent experience in this competition and they’ve also showed how serious they take them by arriving early in SA to start their preparation for Saturday’s game.
“Obviously we’ve just come from a game (1-1 draw against Swallows FC in the DStv Premiership) on Wednesday evening and for us we’ve got a few days now to prepare for the Caf match‚” he said. “It’s a different game and it’s not like playing a league match here (SA)‚ so we’ve got to plan differently and go about it differently.
“If you look‚ Simba were here (SA) early‚ I think they arrived early in the week so that they’ve got time to acclimatise and they would have possibly looked at our game on Wednesday.
“But Like I said‚ it’s a different game. Caf and PSL are different things. We just look to do our best come Saturday evening. “If each and every player can give his best you don’t know what could happen. Another thing for me is to keep learning and keep growing in the competition as we never know where might just end up.”
The Chiefs player admitted that he knew little about Simba when they draw for the quarterfinals was made‚ but he now feels they’re up for a tough game after doing some research on them.
“When the draw (for the last 8) came out and we were drawn against Simba‚ personally I didn’t know much about Simba.
“But obviously after reading about them or looking up on them they seem like a team that has done well in the Champions League or have been doing in this competition for the past few years.
“They seem like a very big team in Tanzania and so I’m looking forward to play against them. It definitely poses a new challenge for us‚ but we’re up for the challenge and I’m up for the challenge.
“Like I said‚ I don’t know much about them but ja‚ I’m looking forward to the game and looking forward to see what they have in store for us.”
Chiefs’ form in Champions League has been far more impressive than what they’ve done on the domestic front where they’re languishing on the 10th spot in the Premiership log with just three games to finish what’s been their worst season in the PSL era.
Frosler also highlighted that their Caf run has been far better than everyone expected. “So far the Caf journey it’s been a nice journey‚” the SA Under 23 international said.
“We’ve learnt a lot over the few games we’ve played so far.
“It wasn’t easy‚ it was definitely a tough journey having to travel during what’s currently happening (Covid-19) in the world.
“So it’s a challenge travelling‚ but I think it’s been a nice learning challenge for me personally. I enjoy playing these Caf games. You learn a lot from them.”