Chiefs midfield work horse Gert Schalkwyk, the scorer of Chiefs second goal when the Amakhosi recorder a famous 2-0 victory over Pirates at the end of October, says he could not be more prepared for the challenge of Orlando Pirates.

Describing his first Soweto derby experience in October Gert said “the atmosphere, the noise, the colourful scenes when driving in to the stadium made the occasion a really special one and scoring was really the icing on top of a very sweet cake.

Having once been down the Soweto derby road the highly talented Schalkwyk is looking forward to his second running with bulls and in particular his Orlando Pirates counterparts the like of Benedict Vilakazi and Gift Leremi. “You know Benedict and Gift are excellent players and to come away with the upper hand after playing them leaves one with a great feeling of satisfaction. I do not fear any player I come up against, I do though have the utmost respect for these two guys and what they have achieved and being the under dog against them will bring out the terrier in me” said an excited Schalkwyk.

Gert, who joined Chiefs at the start of the 2003-2004 season, had been reduced to bit part performances of the past two season has seen a change in fortunes since the arrival of Ernst Middendorp. The arrival of the new coach did not immediately bring first team football for Gert; with the coach having thrown him into the deep end Gert has a new found confidence. “All I really needed was a chance and before I got my break I needed to show that I deserved one, really it has been a lot of extra work but I am learning new ways of improving my game everyday and it has paid dividends for me”.