Chiefs look to bounce back against Sekhukhune

Kaizer Chiefs will be looking to bounce back quickly from their disappointing MTN8 exit when they host Sekhukhune United this evening in the Betway Premiership at FNB Stadium.

Chiefs face Babina Noko test

Fernando Da Cruz’ side are likely to be in for a tough time, however, against Babina Noko and their head coach Cedric Kaze.

Kaze has got off to a superb start in charge of Sekhukhune, winning his first Premiership match against Durban City and then pulling off an extraordinary 4-3 MTN8 quarterfinal win at AmaZulu. sportnewz.click

He should also know Chiefs inside out having coached there for two seasons before being let go at the end of the 2025/26 campaign.

With that said, Da Cruz did win his first Premiership game of the season at Durban City, a 3-1 win over another former Chiefs coach in Khalil Ben Youssef.

So maybe inside knowledge won’t necessarily help. Either way, Chiefs will need to respond to Sunday’s 1-0 loss to Arrows. That result was particularly disappointing given that it was Chiefs’ first appearance in the MTN8 in three years.

“It’s very disappointing for the players because they put in a lot of effort. Also, for the fans because a lot of them came to the stadium,” Da Cruz told Chiefs media

“We had a lot of chances to score but we didn’t take them and unfortunately they scored with their only chance from a cross.

“We lacked lucidity (composure) inside the box. Even after they scored we had opportunities but we need to work on being calmer in those situations.”

‘Happy with the mindset’

“I am happy with the mindset of the players,” he added.

“We wanted to go further in this tournament and we are disappointed to be eliminated but we still have other competitions to compete in and we will continue to work hard to improve step by step. I want the fans to be proud of the team in the next few weeks.”

Chiefs have a massive few days ahead of them with an early season cracker against Mamelodi Sundowns coming up on Saturday at FNB Stadium.

Get good results against Sekhukhune and Sundowns and the MTN8 exit will not feel so bad. If Chiefs lose to both, however, the early season pressure on Da Cruz is likely to mount.

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso heaped praise on Sphelele Mkhulise after his late brace sealed a dramatic 3-2 win over TS Galaxy in a Betway Premiership clash at Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday night.

The pint-sized midfielder has been used sparingly by Cardoso during his time in charge of the Brazilians, but he delivered arguably his best performance in a Sundowns jersey in a long time against The Rockets.

The 30-year-old came on for Gomolemo Kekana after the hour mark, with the score tied at 1-1. Galaxy took the lead with 13 minutes remaining and looked set to claim yet another famous victory.

However, Mkhulise popped up with two late goals as Sundowns snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in a five-goal thriller on a cold night in Mpumalanga.

“It was beautiful to see Pitso (Mkhulise) score two goals coming from the bench,” Cardoso said.

“He deserves all the luck in the world. Not only is he a fantastic player but he is also a fantastic boy. Today I even carried him on my shoulders in front of the supporters.

“It was to make him understand that we love him. He carried us during the match and we carried him in the end to salute him and I’m so proud.”

Cardoso is encouraged by the positive start to their league campaign after Sundowns narrowly lost the title to Orlando Pirates last season.

“It’s our intention to fight the best as we can and have the maximum commitment possible for this league,” he added.

“It’s not because we lost it (league) before but it’s our ambition to dominate South African football, so we have to do it because of the history of the club.”

The win over Galaxy came days after Masandawana knocked Polokwane City out of the MTN8 quarter-finals after extra-time, where they needed a late goal to seal another 3-2 win.

Although Cardoso is happy with his team’s spirit following back-to-back wins in their first two matches, he wants to tighten up at the back after conceding four goals in two matches.

“Unfortunately, in the last two games we conceded two goals from two shots. It’s not something that makes me happy and we have to correct it as a group and as a team,” the Portuguese coach concluded.

“We have to reduce the number of goals because we’re also not going to score three every time. When you concede two goals, you also have a high risk of losing points.

“We cannot lose points regularly because it will become a problem but at the moment, two games and two victories, so we need to get the energy from there and grow the victories.”

Inarrêtable depuis le début de la saison, Morgan Guilavogui continue de s’illustrer sous les couleurs du Real Salt Lake.

Dans la nuit de mardi à mercredi, le club de MLS a largement dominé le FC Juárez (3-0), à l’occasion de la troisième journée du groupe A de la League Cup nord-américaine. Titulaire en première période, l’attaquant guinéen a contribué au succès des siens en ouvrant le score.

À la 29e minute, Guilavogui a transformé un penalty pour mettre son équipe sur les bons rails. Cette nouvelle réalisation porte son bilan à 2 buts et 6 passes décisives en 17 apparitions depuis le début de la saison.

Devenu l’un des éléments importants du dispositif du Real Salt Lake, l’ancien Lensois confirme sa montée en puissance au fil des rencontres. Régulier dans ses performances, l’international guinéen poursuit ainsi sa dynamique positive et laisse entrevoir une suite de saison prometteuse.

A. Diouma Bah

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