Early on Wednesday morning Amakhosi coach Muhsin Ertugral lead his team on a short walk around Umhlanga just north of Durban, where The Amakhosi have been camping for the past few days as they touch up for Wednesday evening's derby match with Moroka Swallows.

While the sun pierced through the clouds for the first time during Chiefs' three-day stay in Durban, it is not just the coastal city that’s glowing in the sun's rays, as Chiefs player of the year from the 2005-06 season, David Obua, believes that the Amakhosi are shining just as brightly at the moment.

With four tough and potentially season-deciding clashes on the offing for The Amakhosi over the next three weeks, Obua is highly confident that he and his team mates are ready for Celtic, Sundowns and Pirates and are looking to give themselves a further boost by defeating Moroka Swallows on Wednesday evening.

Durban derby

With stadiums around the country being renovated for the 2010 FIFA World Cup it has meant that Chiefs will be anchor tenants at the ABSA Stadium in Durban for the a while. Wednesday sees, for the first time, a PSL encounter between Chiefs and any of their Soweto rivals taking place in Kwa-Zulu Natal.

The Amakhosi though have played many games in Durban over the previous two seasons and Obua feels that Chiefs are right at home at the ABSA Stadium as he explained, “We know the stadium well, we're used to the surface. We had the opportunity of training on it on Monday and Tuesday, the thing is we have not lost at the ABSA Stadium in more than three years in a competitive match, and we have also won two cup finals there so playing at the ABSA Stadium does a lot of good for our psyche.”

Strong Support

Another key aspect of matches in Durban is that Chiefs enjoy a very strong support base in the province and fans turn out in large numbers at the ABSA Stadium.

Obua, like any entertainer, loves performing in front of a huge crowd and the colour and noise in the ABSA Stadium usually brings out the best in him.

“Through the season the team has been getting better and better and the fans have taken notice, and have responded by coming to the stadium. This was evident during our last three games as we had huge crowds in Rustenburg and Tshwane.

"Against Free State Stars the guys and ladies braved the rain to watch us and when you have such backing it makes you want to win every time. For the Swallows game we know that our fans will be counted in huge numbers and we want to win to make their journey back home and to Mmabatho on the weekend for the Telkom Cup Semis with Celtic a happy one.”

Exploitation necessary

With rain forecast for Wednesday evening, Chiefs, who trained in wet conditions on Monday and Tuesday, and were victorious over Free State Stars in the rain last week, are not too concerned about the wet weather. Instead Obua feels that he and his team mates need to knuckle down to the job of gaining three points on Wednesday.

“We're not very concerned with the rain. What is of paramount importance is that we want to get to third place by the end of the evening. We can only do that by winning, and I believe that the game will not be a close affair, instead it will be an open-ended game. There will be a lot of chances for both teams, recently our defence has done well going through the last three games without conceding a goal. If we put up another strong showing at the back, as well as making our chances count like we did against Stars, then another three points will come our way. We have to be as clinical as we were last week and should take advantage of any chance that falls our way.”

Happy hunting

As Chiefs go hunting for three points over the Birds, Obua has picked out his former Chiefs team mates Bevan Fransman and Songwe Chalwe as potential party spoilers on Wednesday.

“Songwe might not have started many matches for Swallows this season but he will be hoping to get some time against us. He is a good finisher and remains a threat and with his fellow Zambian, James Chamanga, they are in good form, a lethal partnership up front as they compliment each other well in attack. With regards to Bevan, he has shown his true class as a defender with the national team and at club level. Somehow he always comes out fighting against us, on the other end we do know them well enough to be able to deal with them and I am confident we can do that effectively on Wednesday.”