Ramahlwe Mphahlele is looking forward to going back with Kaizer Chiefs to a special venue for him in Emirates Airline Park, where as a teenager he started his Premier Soccer League career.

The venue popularly known as Ellis Park for many years is where Chiefs will this weekend face hosts Sekhukhune United in their penultimate DStv Premiership fixture of the season.

“I have fond memories of Ellis Park. For me, in the PSL it’s where it all started. It’s where I made my debut for Swallows against Orlando Pirates at night. It was a star-studded Pirates team, with (Gift) Leremi, (Excellent) Walaza, (Benedict) Vilakazi, all those boys. I was still at high school in Grade 10 in the 2006/2007 season and I was still a kid. It’s a very special place for me. We won that game 1-0. I remember it very well and personally, I am excited to go back there,” Mphahlele told www.kaizerchiefs.com.

The teenage debutant gave an assistant in that game for Cecil Oerson’s winner that sunk the Buccaneers that night.

In his first visit to the stadium as a Kaizer Chiefs player, a player who has donned the Amakhosi captain’s armband in recent games is also very mindful that it is a stadium that holds great significance for the club in times of triumph and tragedy.

He is looking forward to the game against Sekhukhune and is determined to end the season strongly.

“Training has been going well. We’ve been preparing for Sekhukhune away from home. We’ve watched their videos and the coaches have been telling us about their strengths and weaknesses and we will obviously plan for the game and look to go to Ellis Park and get the result. They’re a very difficult team to play against. They’ve been doing well, we have to be at our best for us to be able to get maximum points there,” said Mphahlele.

He knows Chiefs will come up against some seasoned campaigners in the hosts, no more so than Kaizer Chiefs stalwart Willard Katsande.

“They have a very experienced team, a very tough team. They play at a very high pace. We have to be strong physically, we have to be able to run more than them. We know we are going to be playing away from home and they want to put us under pressure. Obviously, they have the likes of (Willard) Katsande, who knows the club very well. He’s going to probably give them the inside information. But we are confident we can go there and get the result,” said Mphahlele.

He is looking to finish the season on a high note and win the club’s remaining games “and we can see what happens after that”.

“We know we’ve had a lot of ups and downs as a team. It’s been a long season. The past two games we’ve managed to pick up the levels we were promising,” Mphahlele concluded.