Newly promoted Magesi FC continued to make their mark in the top flight when they held Kaizer Chiefs to a 2-2 draw on Wednesday at Peter Mokaba Stadium.
Dikwena showed that they meant business when they registered first on the scoresheet; in the early stages of the game, with a goal from Wonderboy Makhubu in the sixth minute. Edmore Chirambadare extended the home side’s lead in the 72nd minute but two quick goals from the Glamour Boys rising star Mduduzi Shabalala ensured that the two sides share the spoils.
Magesi shocked Orlando Pirates to a 3-2 win which knocked them out of the Carling Knockout Cup and followed that up by holding Cape Town City to a goalless draw this past Sunday. They have stretched their unbeaten run to five matches.
Larsen commended his team’s performance given the tough fixtures they have been dealt with and having little to no time to rest.
“Firstly, I’ve got to credit my players, three games in seven days we played on Sunday we got back on Monday morning at 5:00. Kaizer Chiefs played on Saturday night. Rested Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday so that’s the difference, in terms of how fresh they were and that’s why we wanted to push for early goals because we knew the legs would go.
“…But after all is said and done nobody expects us to get this type of results. We’ve played Pirates and Chiefs within 10 days and to beat Pirates and draw against Kaizer Chiefs, I think credit must go to Magesi as a football club,” said Larsen during his post-match interview.
The former Golden Arrows coach continued to heap praises for his team adding that such impressive showings are what they require to be able to swim with the big boys.
“I’m so proud of the effort, like I said for us to survive in this league and compete, these are the types of performances we need where the boys just leave it all out here and I’m so proud of the players.
It is worth noting that newly promoted teams tend to struggle in the Premier Division. Last season’s newcomers Cape Town Spurs opened their campaign with over ten straight defeats, remained rooted to the bottom of the log and were relegated back into the First Division after collecting 23 points.
The 53-year-old lamented on having a small squad size which forces him to regularly use the same starting line-up and that takes a toll on players. He said they are working tirelessly to get the players who are not starters on the same level as the regulars so that they can be able to rotate.
“Yeah and that’s something we’re trying to work on, we’re trying to get the players who are not regulars to up their performances so they can give us exactly what the first starting 11 have. And we’re not there yet you know, hence we keep sticking to the same team and just try to rest them as much as we can between games,” Larsen concluded.
The Limpopo side will aim to stretch their unbeaten run when they take on last year’s finalists TS Galaxy in the quarterfinal of the Carling Knockout Cup on Sunday at Mbombela Stadium.
Written by Siphesihle Soni