Kaizer Chiefs defender Dillan Solomons has indicated how they managed to stop Stellenbosch in previous fixtures, regarding their strength in quick transitions ahead of their third meeting this weekend in the Nedbank Cup quarterfinals.
Amakhosi will be confident but cautious in their approach against Stellenbosch as they have already collected six points from the Cape Winelands outfit. In the two meetings in the Betway Premiership, Wandile Duba was the hero in the first encounter as his brace saw Chiefs comeback from a goal down to win 2-1 on the day.
The away fixture was another cagey affair as a single goal by Congolese international Glody Lilepo was enough to see Chiefs do the double on Stellenbosch this season.
The Glamour Boys’ journey to the last eight in the Nedbank Cup started with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Free Agents who play in the Gauteng ABC Motsepe League. Another quality display in the round of 16 saw them walk away 3-0 winners against Chippa United, recording back-to-back clean sheets while scoring seven goals across the two fixtures.
Chiefs will now head to the “Windy City” now known as Gqeberha to face Steve Barker and Stellenbosch in what we can call the trilogy between the two teams. Solomons did not shy away from admitting that the draw was a tricky one but explained how they managed to nullify The Maroons’ attacking threat, which resulted in both home and away victories in the league.
“It’s a tricky draw but a very good game of football for the fans,” Solomon told the media after the Nedbank Cup quarterfinal draw.
“For us is to stay true to our processes, obviously focus on what we need to do and hopefully we can come out of Cape Town with a win.
“I feel that we nullified their strength they want to play on transition and if you counter-press them it’s very difficult for them to play on transition.
“For us, I think it’s gonna be the main thing to stop the transition.
“Obviously, they have very speedy players and if you can stop that, we can nullify a bit of their strength.”
Despite Kaizer Chiefs going through a rough patch, they are no strangers to the Nedbank Cup as they have lifted this trophy 13 times in the past with the last coming back in 2012-13. Coach Nasreddine Nabi has been working tirelessly on the rebuild at Kaizer Chiefs and will be determined to go the full distance as he looks to be the one to end a decade-long trophy drought at Naturena.