Maritzburg United head coach Eric Tinkler says his team will be eyeing another win when they clash with Absa Premiership leaders Kaizer Chiefs on Sunday.
The Team of Choice shocked the Glamour Boys in the Telkom Knockout semi-finals 2-1 last month and Tinkler is eager to see a repeat result in the league.
“We beat them in the Telkom Knockout (semi-final). We are capable (of beating them) but what you are going to get is a different team because it is a team that knows how you’ve beat them. It is a team that is doing well in the league,” Tinkler told the media.
“They will be hungrier and want to get the result against us because they lost to us in the cup. They obviously want to continue with their run in the league. We’ve got to work harder than we did against them when we won the cup.
“They’ve got enough depth and quality in their squad to sustain it. They got some good results in the league. Some of those games haven’t been pretty, but the fact of the matter is that they are scoring and winning.”
Tinkler also pointed out that United will have to concentrate on containing Chiefs at set-pieces, where they have been effective so far this season.
“They have scored nine goals in set pieces in the last couple of games. Obviously that’s an area that has become a massive strength for them which existed even when Baxter won the league,” said the former Orlando Pirates boss.
“They seem to have found their mojo in terms of scoring from set plays. That’s an area where we need to be brave and cautious, hence we’ve done analysis today in terms of dealing with corners and the second ball. They are threat on those set pieces.
“We’ve played them and dealt with them aerially. All we have to do is to apply the same principle – set pieces and long balls. Consistency is very important.”
He added: “The added element is that we are playing at home. I never look to play for draws. Would you be happy with the draw against Chiefs knowing that they are on top of the league? Of course you will be. But we don’t plan to play for draws, we plan to win games, especially when we play at home. We need to go there and perform like we did against Sundowns.”