THE COACHES of Kaizer Chiefs, Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef, have a yoke to come up with different strategies to strengthen their back wall and midfield as they look to the key match of the home team in Soweto, which they will play against their neighbors Orlando Pirates.
Amakhosi and Magebhula will meet at FNB Stadium on Sunday at 3 pm.
When they faced each other in the first match of the season in February, Ezimnyama won 3-0 with goals from Tshepang Moremi, Oswin Appollis and Evidence Makgopa.
What was clear on that day was that Amakhosi had no answers to stop the attacks of Pirates, Moremi, Appollis and Relebohile Mofokeng.
These players are the best in this Orlando team in creating and scoring goals, as well as other players including Patrick Maswanganyi, Yanela Mbuthuma and Makgopa.
In the league games this season, Mofokeng has hit the net 10 times, and was also involved in seven other goals.
Appollis has scored eight goals, set up six for his teammates, while Moremi has five goals and assisted in four.
The sharpness of these players who attack from the stomach and sides reduces the pressure to score goals on the Pirates strikers and is what often confuses the stoppers of other teams who don’t know where to stop.
For the home team in February, the Chiefs closed with Inacius Miguel and Zitha Kwinika in the center back, on the sides they used Aden McCarthy and Thabiso Monyane, all of whom struggled.
In the last three games, Monyane and Bradley Cross have settled on the sides, while McCarthy has partnered with Miguel or Given Msimango in the middle.
One of the things that fans and even Kings coaches have complained about this season is not having two center backs playing together for many games in a row.
The challenge is for McCarthy, as a regular stopper to get the jersey, to strengthen the connection in the back wall, to avoid the flow of the Pirates attacking players.
It will be important that those who hold the Chiefs in the middle of the field help, since the Pirates are increasing the number of attackers with their midfielders, as well as those who play on the sides like Kamogelo Sebelele, Deon Hotto or Nkosikhona Ndaba.
Another way Chiefs can reduce the pressure on their back wall would be for their attacking players to be able to keep the ball and go forward, so that the Pirates don’t have all the time to control the game.
If Kaze and Ben Youssef don’t come up with better strategies in this Sunday’s game, they may find themselves facing another goal-scoring battle.