“It will be tough and we need to be mentally strong,” Kaizer Chiefs striker Siphelele Mthembu says about Sunday’s CAF Champions League match against Raja Casablanca. His teammate, the exciting young midfielder Hendrick ‘Pule’ Ekstein adds: “It will be a big game.”

Both players joined Amakhosi at the beginning of the season. Mthembu came from Platinum Stars, having scored nine goals last season. The 27-year-old striker is enjoying the Champions League journey.

About his first season at Chiefs, the striker comments: “It’s a good experience. I am growing as a player, learning a lot of new things. The demands are different here and I am adapting to this.”

Mthembu came on during the first leg against Botswana’s Township Rollers in the preliminary round and again in the first leg of the Raja encounter in Durban.

The journey from Johannesburg to Casablanca took about 21 hours. “A lot of mental strength is needed to play in the Champions League,” Mthembu explains. “But the experience gained this way will help us in the league.”

On Morocco as a country, the striker observes: “It’s a country with a rich history. They have an interesting culture. However, there is a lot of work to do here as well.”

Ekstein made his official debut recently in the Nedbank Cup clash against Edu Sports. Soon hereafter, the skilful midfielder also came on during the first leg encounter against Raja. He was received well by the Amakhosi faithful.

“I grew up supporting Kaizer Chiefs,” he reflects. “Siphiwe Tshabalala was my hero. Now I play with him. At this Club, there is always pressure to win a trophy. As a player, you need to learn how to deal with that.

The midfielder was happy about being given a chance to play against Raja: “That was a huge experience, also to realise that I could compete with them.”

The 24-years-old Ekstein has talent in abundance and he’s ready for action.

On being in Morocco, he says: “I have never been away from home. The Moroccans live their life differently than we do, but they are very nice people.”

While sitting in the Sheraton hotel in Casablanca, Mthembu points out that he would like to see that “our supporters must give us positive energy”.

About Sunday’s return match against Raja, the two still see chances for Amakhosi to progress to the next round, despite the 1-0 loss at home.

“We have nothing to lose,” comments Mthembu. “We just have to fight to score more goals than they do to win.”

Ekstein adds: “We must go from strength to strength. I feel positive about the outcome of the match.”

The match between Chiefs and Raja will start at 19:00 (20:00, South African time) on Sunday and will be broadcasted live on SuperSport 4.