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Johannesburg - Kaizer Chiefs coach Muhsin Ertugral believes the extra work and time spent preparing his players in the pre-season has started paying bid dividends.
Amakhosi slaughtered Santos 4-0 in the MTN 8 quarter-final clash at Loftus last weekend and hope to continue in that vein when they host Moroka Swallows in the first leg of the MTN 8 clash at Loftus on Saturday night. Kick-off is at 20:15.
But the Chiefs coach is far too experienced to think his side can roll over the new-look Birds who have shown signs of a revival under their new Brazilian coach Julio Cesar Leal.
Ertugral has a high regards for Leal. "I know and respect him as a top coach. He has already worked in South Africa (with AmaZulu) so he knows what to expect from the football in this country."
Ertugral is delighted with the way his players kicked off their season against Santos. "We had six weeks in the pre-season. I was not worried about results but what was important was the progress we made when we played in tournaments such as the Vodacom Challenge against the likes of Manchester United and Orlando Pirates. I can see that hard work paying off this season."
But Ertugral is taking nothing for granted against the Birds who beat Ajax Cape Town 4-3 in a seven goal thriller in the last round. "They also scored four goals so they are firing. I know Leal is an offensive type of coach but they did concede three goals so we will work on that."
Suspended
Ertugral is still minus injured striker Kaizer Motaung junior who will be sidelined for four more weeks. Also out is new central defender Valery Nahayo who misses the next two weeks with a knee injury.
Emile Baron deputises again for suspended Itumeleng Khune in goal. Baron is sharp having played in a number of pre-season games.
The Birds can expect to meet the same side which beat Santos and will have to watch off-season catch, Venezuelan striker Jose Torrealba, who scored against Santos and has looked sharper with every game in the pre-season. He is going to be a big asset to Chiefs this season.
Midfield dynamo Gert Schalkwyk, who scored twice and was a constant threat to Santos, looks to have a new lease of life.
Ertugral said he would attack but would be careful not to concede at home as away goals count double.
Leal, the brother of Bafana Bafana assistant coach Jairo has brought in three of his countrymen, Igor Alves, Vinicius da Silva and Ravi Rancan plus former Chiefs defender Fabian McCarthy, whose contract was not renewed by Amakhosi, and former SA Under-23 winger Ryan Botha.
Showdown
McCarthy will be up for the challenge and he will be keen to show he is not a spent force against his old club. But he could struggle against the pace of the Chiefs' attack.
A battle royale is set for the Super Stadium in Atterdigeville for the semi-final, first leg showdown between Pretoria rivals, Mamelodi Sundowns and SuperSport United on Sunday at 15:00.
Downs coach Trott Moloto has brought in 12 new players and admitted his biggest problem was who to leave out.
"All the players want to play in this match as it is a derby with so much at stake."
There is little love lost between the two Pretoria rivals. Katlego Mphela who helped United win the championship last season joined Downs in the pre-season and is keen to add to the goal which sunk Free State Stars 1-0 in the last round.
But he stresses he bears no grudges against his former employers.
The two teams contrast in style. Downs are the flair side with lots of skill. United are a hard working outfit under coach Gavin Hunt who never give an inch.
In Glen Salmon, Katlego Mashego and Fikru Teferra, United have a deadly striker force. Teferra scored what is likely to be the goal of the tournament in the 2-1 win over Pirates last weekend. But United's big strength are their wings where Daine Klate and Elias Pelembe can cause havoc.
