Having made several telling contributions in the Gold & Black since joining Kaizer Chiefs halfway through last season, Glody Lilepo has gained the favour of the majority of the Amakhosi Faithful, adding to his popularity beyond our borders, as was evident when significant number of his ‘personal fan club’ turned up to meet him at the airport when Amakhosi landed in Luanda, Angola for their CAF Confederation Cup match against Kabuscorp SCP a fortnight ago.

“It’s very good that people like me because to me it means I am helping my team. If I score a goal and we win, that is good for the whole team,” the Congolese international tells www.kaizerchiefs.com with typical humility, as he gets ready to face Stellenbosch in the last 16 of the Carling Black Label Knockout Cup at DHL stadium in Cape Town on Sunday.

Lilepo has settled into his environment pretty well since arriving in January and already recognises the calibre of football in the PSL. “I have only been in South Africa for around nine months but I know Stellenbosch are a strong team. Maybe they haven’t had the best start to this season in the league but this is a cup game,” he points out, “We are expecting a difficult match and we will have to play very well to beat them.

“Our preparation has been good,” he continues, “We have trained well and are mentally focused on our mission, which is to get through to the next round.”

The powerful attacker has enhanced his credibility among the fans by finding the net at key moments, most recently the winner against Kabuscorp with a superb finish. “I am happy to have scored a few goals. As a forward, scoring is a big part of my job so I want to score every time I play,” he says, adding, “I also like giving assists because the important thing is to do things for the benefit of the team.”

That said, Lilepo goes into Sunday’s match with extra motivation after failing to convert a penalty in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with AmaZulu, seeking both personal redemption and forgiveness from the fans the only way possible, by putting in a strong performance against Stellenbosch.

"It was disappointing not to convert the penalty in the last game, but these things happen in football. We need to stay focused, give our best, and aim to win the next match."

“The main thing is to remain together and continue doing your best in the next game. I would love to make it up to the fans by scoring on Sunday,” he says, before concluding, “We had a great crowd on Wednesday against AmaZulu and I call on all our fans to come and support us on Sunday because it’s a very important game.”