September: We Have A Good Plan For Chiefs
Chippa United coach Thabo September says they have a good tactical plan to mastermind the downfall of Kaizer Chiefs ahead of their Nedbank Cup round of 16 clash at FNB Stadium on Saturday, with a quarterfinal spot at stake.
The Chilli Boys advanced to this stage of the competition at the expense of Golden Arrows after claiming a 2-1 victory away from home last month. Amakhosi thumped third-tier side Free Agents FC 4-0 to set up a meeting with United.
The Gqeberha-based outfit, who lost the 2020/21 Nedbank Cup title to Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila, will be determined to replicate their impressive showing in the cup of dreams – a competition they often reach the latter stages of.
However, September’s charges will need to put their decline in form aside, with Chiefs motivated to end a decade-approaching trophy drought. The former SuperSport United midfield maestro has called for a positive mentality as he claims they have a good plan to outsmart the Glamour Boys.
“It’s a cup game – a once-off game so you need to approach it with the right mentality, make sure that you play well and give your all in that 90 minutes and make sure that you capitalize on the opportunities that you create,” he said.
“We must be stubborn and selfish in terms of conceding goals; we have a good plan about what we need to do. Playing against a big team like Kaizer Chiefs is an opportunity for these players to showcase their talent.”
The 42-year-old tactician, who assumed sole responsibility in charge of affairs at the trigger-happy Chippa Mpengesi-owned club after the shock departure of Kwanele Kopo in January, says he is spoilt for choice in team selection for the match.
“The team looks good except Sirgio [Jade Kammies] who’s suspended but the rest of the team looks good. We have a big pool [of players] that we can select from against Chiefs, so I think we need to go out there and show the good talents that we have, and express ourselves well.
“Besides the tactics, we need to come out of our shell and play our football to make sure that we do the things that we need to do right and play our players to their strengths.”
Chippa have won two of their last five encounters against the Soweto giants, while Chiefs also won as many games with the other one finishing as a stalemate. It remains to be seen whether Chippa can go beyond their semi-final exit from last season at the hands of eventual winners Orlando Pirates.
