Former Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Brian Baloyi has made a bold score prediction on Sunday’s match between Kaizer Chiefs and Stellenbosch FC.
Amakhosi will battle the Maroons at a sold-out Athlone Stadium with kick-off set for 17:30 in their first match of the season.
They head to this match with an advantage on their side, having witnessed a preview of what lies ahead during Stellies’ 3-2 victory over AmaZulu this past Saturday in the MTN8 quarterfinal.
To add to that, Chiefs managed to defeat the Western Cape team in all three of their meetings last season. Baloyi is confident that Amakhosi will continue their dominance over Stellenbosch.
“I think it’s going to be a great match, and I think Chiefs will go into this match more confident, especially having beaten Stellenbosch in the Nedbank Cup on their way to the final. So, I don’t see Stellenbosch giving Chiefs a problem,” he said.
Baloyi said it’s going to be a challenging season for his former team and advised coach Nasreddine Nabi to focus on building the team rather than rushing to compete with Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates.
“The coach and the players are each and every season always under pressure to win the league, but I think the coach must just focus on building the team, and he’s on the right path at the moment, just needs to strengthen the team here and there. But for now, just keep going the way he’s been and keep building a team on his way to challenging Sundowns and Pirates,” Baloyi added.
The Glamour Boys have been experiencing a goal drought for the greater part of the last decade. The last Chiefs attacker to win the PSL Golden Boot award was Bernard Parker during the 2013/14 season. Last season, Amakhosi netted 25 goals across 28 league matches.
They recently strengthened their attacking department with Flavio da Silva, who joins Ashley Du Preez, Wandile Duba, Tashreeq Morris and youngster Naledi Hlongwane.
Baloyi encouraged the strikers not to put pressure on themselves, as this is the issue that is affecting all teams in the league.
Sundowns’ attacking midfielder Lucas Ribeiro scooped the award last season, having scored 16 goals in 27 league matches.
“Yes, it has been 11 years since Chiefs had a player or striker that wins the Golden Boot, but I think new players and everyone the strikers must never put himself under pressure. They must just go out enjoy their games and the goals will come.
They don’t need to put themselves under pressure and want to win the Golden Boot. I think the striking position is not just a problem at Chiefs but especially with the local players; it’s a generic problem,” he continued.
Spiderman, as he was affectionately known during his time on the field, is confident that Chiefs will come out victorious in their opening game against Steve Barker’s charge.
“Score prediction for this game? For me, I’d say 3-1 to Chiefs,” Baloyi concluded.