Hunt worried lengthy break may lead to loss of form

SuperSport United coach Gavin Hunt is concerned that they won’t be active until May 2 when they face Stellenbosch, fearing they will lose momentum. 

SuperSport beat AmaZulu 2-1 at TUT Stadium on Sunday to jump to second spot in the DStv Premiership standings, having played a game more than Orlando Pirates, who are a point behind them in third.

Hunt hasn’t welcomed their eight-day hiatus until their next game at home to Stellies, suggesting their momentum would get blunted as they are unbeaten in their last four league fixtures with two wins and two draws.

“It is a problem for us [that they are not playing until next Tuesday]. They [Stellenbosch] have a cup match [they are facing Sekhukhune United in the Nedbank Cup semifinals five days after the SuperSport game], so it is what it is. We will battle along and try to prepare. We will have a few days off now where players will get away. I always want to play, you know... to keep the momentum,” Hunt said.

In fact SuperSport are not scheduled to play until meeting Stellies because they’ve already played 27 games while all the DStv Premiership teams, apart from Marumo Gallants, have played 26. What accelerated Matsatsantsa’s schedule was playing against Gallants, who are also on 27 games, last Tuesday due to their participation in the CAF Confederation Cup. Stellenbosch face Golden Arrows at home on Saturday.

Thapelo Maseko and Ghampani Lungu were on target for SuperSport against AmaZulu, while Bonginkosi Ntuli scored the KZN-based side’s consolation goal in Tshwane. The defeat left AmaZulu four points away from the relegation zone and their caretaker coach Ayanda Dlamini left hard done by conceding the goal in a way they'd anticipated.

“This game played out exactly the way we expected it to. SuperSport scored two goals from crosses, which is something we talked about, saying that’s the only way they can score. We failed to deal with those two situations and those moments decide the game,” Dlamini said.