Mngqithi Hates Playing Against Gallants
Golden Arrows coach Manqoba Mngqithi has admitted that facing the same opponent twice in a short period is never easy, as his side prepares to take on Marumo Gallants in the Carling Knockout Cup semi-final at King Zwelithini Stadium on Sunday.
This will be the second meeting between the two teams in just a week, following Arrows’ emphatic 4-0 victory over the Bloemfontein-based side in the Betway Premiership last weekend at the same venue
“It’s a very tough assignment; if there’s any game I don’t like in football, it’s back-to-back matches. I don’t like them because they always tend to give indifferent results. We are playing against a very good team. I said it even before, they may not have done well in the last two matches in the province, but they are still a very formidable team that has got lots of good things that they do,” said Mngqithi.
Gallants are heading into the clash off the back of two losses at the hands of sides from KZN, with the most recent being a 1-0 defeat to Durban City in the Betway Premiership at Chatsworth Stadium on Wednesday.
“In my opinion, they are probably ranked third or fourth amongst one of the well-coached teams in the league,” said the former Mamelodi Sundowns coach.
Gallants find themselves in a transition period once again, as they have entrusted Frenchman, Lafitte Alexandre, with the reins this campaign after the departure of Abdeslam Ouaddou to Orlando Pirates.
Mngqithi also gave insight into how he goes about managing his players, after their recent form, which has coincided with their off-the-pitch success, namely the UpBackThrough Podcast, which has gained traction on social media and recently celebrated its first anniversary this month.
“I always teach my players to have focal points, to not want to do multiple things at once, because they are not intellectually gifted, so enforcing lots of information onto them causes them to fail to execute even a single task. However, when they are guided step by step, you end up getting the most out of players who were not trusted by anyone,” added Mngqithi.
Mngqithi’s charges go into the tie against Alexander’s men as favourites, as they look to secure their first piece of silverware since 2009.
If there’s any man capable of propelling Abafana Bes’thende to glory, it’s Mngqithi, who led the side to MTN8 glory 16 years ago.
