With the Nedbank Cup the only chance Kaizer Chiefs have to end their eight-year trophy drought, coach Arthur Zwane understands finishing second in the DStv Premiership is also a priority.
Chiefs’ mission to win their first trophy since 2015 will continue when they visit Royal AM in the quarterfinal of the Nedbank Cup on Sunday (6pm).
In the league, they still have a chance of finishing second as they are currently fourth on the log table (41 points), two behind second-placed Orlando Pirates (43) with five matches remaining.
But the focus now is to get past Thwihli Thwahla on Sunday and progress to the semifinal.
Zwane is aware of the importance of winning all the remaining matches, including the cup games.
“We don’t choose games at this club. You play to win every match. As much as we want to finish in second position, we still want to win the cup as well,” Zwane told the media at a briefing yesterday.
“We take every game very seriously, so we are not going to select games and say we need this one to be more important than all other games.
“The only thing that we can do is to juggle the squad around if need be, but the focus is to make sure that we finish as high as possible and also make sure that we go all the way to the final and win it. We want to win everything.”
Despite facing a tricky side in Royal, Zwane said they are not going to make sure they win and progress to the next round.
“We are playing against a team that is very difficult, especially for us in the past two seasons or so,” he said.
“It is not going to be an easy one, especially since we are playing away and they also won their last game 3-1 [against Stellenbosch].
“So, they will want to progress to the next round, no doubt. We are planning to go all out. We are not going to hold back.”
Chiefs, who saw their five-match winning streak snapped by last week’s 1-1 draw against Gallants, should welcome Zitha Kwinika and Siyethemba Sithebe back to the starting XI as they had been rested as a precaution due to accumulating three yellow cards each.
Nedbank Cup fixtures
Tomorrow: Dondol v Pirates, Peter Mokaba (3pm); Stellenbosch v Sundowns, Athlone (6pm)
Sunday: Chippa v Sekhukhune, Mandela Bay (3pm); Royal v Chiefs, Chatsworth (6pm).
Zwane targets cup to end trophy drought
Chiefs will not hold back against Thwihli Thwahla on Sunday
Image: Veli Nhlapo
With the Nedbank Cup the only chance Kaizer Chiefs have to end their eight-year trophy drought, coach Arthur Zwane understands finishing second in the DStv Premiership is also a priority.
Chiefs’ mission to win their first trophy since 2015 will continue when they visit Royal AM in the quarterfinal of the Nedbank Cup on Sunday (6pm).
In the league, they still have a chance of finishing second as they are currently fourth on the log table (41 points), two behind second-placed Orlando Pirates (43) with five matches remaining.
But the focus now is to get past Thwihli Thwahla on Sunday and progress to the semifinal.
Zwane is aware of the importance of winning all the remaining matches, including the cup games.
“We don’t choose games at this club. You play to win every match. As much as we want to finish in second position, we still want to win the cup as well,” Zwane told the media at a briefing yesterday.
“We take every game very seriously, so we are not going to select games and say we need this one to be more important than all other games.
“The only thing that we can do is to juggle the squad around if need be, but the focus is to make sure that we finish as high as possible and also make sure that we go all the way to the final and win it. We want to win everything.”
Despite facing a tricky side in Royal, Zwane said they are not going to make sure they win and progress to the next round.
“We are playing against a team that is very difficult, especially for us in the past two seasons or so,” he said.
“It is not going to be an easy one, especially since we are playing away and they also won their last game 3-1 [against Stellenbosch].
“So, they will want to progress to the next round, no doubt. We are planning to go all out. We are not going to hold back.”
Chiefs, who saw their five-match winning streak snapped by last week’s 1-1 draw against Gallants, should welcome Zitha Kwinika and Siyethemba Sithebe back to the starting XI as they had been rested as a precaution due to accumulating three yellow cards each.
Nedbank Cup fixtures
Tomorrow: Dondol v Pirates, Peter Mokaba (3pm); Stellenbosch v Sundowns, Athlone (6pm)
Sunday: Chippa v Sekhukhune, Mandela Bay (3pm); Royal v Chiefs, Chatsworth (6pm).
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