Posted in News on Apr 26, 2006.
Against Stars we started off slowly because we went a goal down and than had to probe and probe as we eventually got the break through thanks to Patrick Mayo who was played in with a tremendous cross by stand in captain Fabian McCarthy.
Silver Stars came into the game very excited because of the fact that they had beaten us previously and I think that worked against them because they tried to use many of the same tactics that they did in November. I don’t know how come they were so naïve in their planning, as they could not have expected us to go down the same road we did the last time.
Once again they were hoping to play a counterattacking game, which we countered well as we held the ball in midfield and got defenders to attack and caught them by surprise.
Previously we fell into a trap against them and that was we got involved in unnecessary tackles and challenges on Sunday every one held their positions well and our defenders must take particular credit.
I also thought Fabian McCarthy played magnificently well in his role as stand in captain and he was not marshalled his line well and he thought quickly as he retrieved the ball and sent in a cross in quick time which eventually lead to our first goal.
With Stars out of the way we have Sundowns to concentrate on, firstly I must add that we do have a slight advantage over Sundowns as they have a game on Wednesday and than another on Saturday.
We have extra preparation and rest time before the game and the other advantage that we have is that of having got a feel for the playing surface at the Bafokeng Stadium. The surface is not great the pitch is a bit bumpy so getting used to it will work in our favour, the weather is a bit warmer in Rustenburg so we have slight edge in that regard.
When it comes down to the match itself I do not think that we should read too much into our past cup successes over them, Saturday afternoon will not be determined what happened two seasons ago. It is a whole different ball game and we must understand it is a different eleven against eleven.
Sundowns are on top of the league and I do think that they will win the title and stopping the champions elect from completing the double will be added impetus for us to win.
In Neil Tovey and Miguel Gamondia Sundowns have an excellent coaching duo who have managed to turn things around and when we were at a press conference on Monday Neil Tovey noted an important point. He said that amongst coaches in this country we lack respect for each other and to an extent I do agree with him and therefore regular readers of my column would have noticed that I do compliment opposition coaches on their achievements.
This past week we were also given information that we will be playing a friendly match against Manchester United during the off season. The game is scheduled to be played in Cape Town some time in July.
I am happy with this arrangement as it will give us the opportunity of preparing for the new season by testing our preparedness against world-class opposition and it can only be good for our preparations for next season.
Getting the opportunity to meet with Sir Bobby Charlton the former Manchester United and England player was a real honour and I also look forward to meeting Sir Alex Ferguson when they come to plays un in July.
We are also hopeful that we will meet Manchester United twice when they come out here, as we are confident that we could win our Vodacom Challenge game against Pirates and thus earn ourselves a second meeting with Man United.
Finally to our own team news we will have Cyril Nzama and Derrick Spencer back for Saturday’s game, the pair were serving suspensions and missed Sunday’s game over Stars.
Emile Baron will in all likelihood miss the game on Saturday he is affected by an old shoulder injury and we are taking him to a specialist for further examinations. I hope to see you all in Rustenburg, as we need you our twelfth player to lift us to the final of the ABSA Cup.
Yours in Victory
Ernst Middendorp
