EAST LONDON – Chippa United are going out to get maximum points when they welcome Mamelodi Sundowns in a big Absa Premiership game tonight (7.30pm kickoff) at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.
The Chilli Boys opened their new season with a goalless draw against the newly promoted Stellenbosch last weekend.
One of the senior players at Chippa, Andile Mbenyane, told IOL Sport that his team do not want to disappoint this season, and that the players are well prepared for the dangerous and wounded Sundowns that lost to Otoho d’Oyo in a Caf Champions League game last Sunday.
“We cannot lose at home. That is the most important thing to us. We do not want to disappoint the people of the Eastern Cape. If we do not get maximum points, at least we must get a point,” said a confident Mbenyane.
Mbenyane says Chippa United were unfortunate not to get a goal against Stellenbosch because they dominated the game.
Now Clinton Larsen’s boys are expected to show what they can this season in tonight’s game.
“We played very well against Stellenbosch, which did not have any shots on target, but our game lacked goals.
“We are ready for the season and have prepared ourselves well for this game because we know Mamelodi Sundowns. They have experienced and good players, but we treat all the teams the same way because there are no small or big team these days,” said Mbenyane.
The Chilli Boys are going into their second game of the new season desperate for a win at home, and Mbenyane hopes that his team will score goals after failing to get them against Stellenbosch.
“We are hoping to get goals in today’s game. It’s always difficult at the start of the season for players to gel. We have worked on some of the important things of our game.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/WozaNazo?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WozaNazoClash vs @Masandawana @AbsaSouthAfrica #AbsaPrem
Kick Off 19:30 @NMB_Stadium #BringTheFire #BringTheFlames #BringTheGees🌶🔥
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— Chippa United FC (@ChippaUnitedFC)
“We were unlucky not to get goals against Stellenbosch.
“I can say Sundowns are a team we cannot take lightly, but we do not need to fear them. We have played them last season and beat them.
“That showed that we are a good team, but we are not going to Sundowns to prove a point. What is important to us now is collect points and avoid fighting relegation. We don’t want to wake up late,” concluded Mbenyane.
@PedroMapelo