Posted in News on Oct 11, 2013.
Coach Stuart Baxter said his side will go in the Macufe Cup against Bloemfontein Celtic, on Sunday, with two goals in mind.
"We have Kaizer Chiefs name to protect every time we go to a match. Chiefs is founded on the principle of winning mentality. For that matter we will go all out to win the Cup," said Baxter speaking at the Macufe Cup Media Open Day held at Chiefs Village on Thursday.
The game is played during the Fifa weekend. Chiefs will play Celtics without their Captain, Itumeleng Khune, Tsepo Masilela, Reneilwe Letsholonyane and Bernard Parker. The quartet is away on international duty with Bafana Bafana playing Morocco on Friday night in Morocco.
"We will field the players that do not get regular starting line up. A new player like Ivan Bukenya might get a chance to make his debut in Chiefs colors (Masilela made his Chiefs debut at the 2012 Macufe Cup).
We will field a strong line up mainly comprising of the players that need some game time (Kgotso Moleko, Mandla Masango, Matthew Rusike, Erick Mathoho and Lucky Baloyi). We will field some of the players from the Academy. Development is high on our agenda at the moment. We will give the youngsters a chance to have a feel of the first team action.
This game will give us an opportunity to lift their match fitness levels to be closer to the regulars," continued a seemingly focused Baxter.
Chiefs visit Free State Stars next Sunday in Qwaqwa for the TKO Last 8.
"You need this sort of games to keep active during a Fifa weekend. We will also use the game to prepare for the TKO game next week. One thing for sure, we will field a competitive side on Sunday," concluded Baxter.
The Amakhosi have won Macufe Cup more than any other team that has participated since its inception back in 2003. Chiefs has emerged victorious on four occasions. Celtics go into the encounter as the defending Champions after beating Chiefs 3-2 in 2012.
The game takes place at Free State Stadium on Sunday, 13 October 2013. Kickoff is at 15:00.