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Johannesburg - Having made a stuttering start to the defence of their Premiership crown, Kaizer Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter is quietly confident they will return to their best form.
Three games into the new season and Chiefs are some way off the pace, occupying ninth spot in the league standings with four points from a possible 12.
"In terms of the games... we have had chances to win the games and games have been tight," Baxter said ahead of their next assignment against Maritzburg United on Saturday.
"So those tight games can go either way. I don’t think the games have been that much different (to last season) but we have just been struggling to find our way."
Amakhosi started the season with a 1-0 victory over new-comers Mpumalanga Black Aces, but have since drew 1-1 with Moroka Swallows, before slumping to a 3-1 defeat by SuperSport United a fortnight ago.
"The Premiership is a normal league and to say suddenly it is more difficult than it was last season, I don’t think of it that way," Baxter said. "For me this just a competitive league."
Baxter's hopes were given a timely boost on Tuesday, when Musona netted the opening goal for Zimbabwe in their 2-1 win over Bafana Bafana in an international friendly.
Musona has struggled to make his mark at Chiefs since re-joining the Soweto giants in July on a one-year loan deal from German side 1899 Hoffenheim.
He is yet to score in his three starts for the Glamour Boys, with supporters beginning to question his goal-scoring abilities.
However, Baxter said he was pleased to see Musona terrorise opposition goalkeepers once again.
"The goal Knowledge scored against Bafana on Tuesday will do his confidence a whole lot of good," Baxter said.
"He was also among the scorers on Sunday when we had a friendly match against Mpumalanga Black Aces.
"Bernard Parker also scored a beautiful goal against Zimbabwe having grabbed a brace last Saturday against Botswana."
Last season, Maritzburg held Chiefs to a 1-1 draw in both league meetings and, defender Morgan Gould urged supporters to be realistic about the Soweto side's chances this season.
"Any team can concede goals and, it is more about how good the other team is on the day and SuperSport United wanted it more," Gould said.
"They came with a good plan and it is one of those games where we need to know that we are not invincible."
Premiership fixtures:
Saturday: University of Pretoria v Bloemfontein Celtic (Tuks Stadium), Free State Stars v Platinum Stars (Goble Park), AmaZulu v Moroka Swallows (Moses Mabhida Stadium), Kaizer Chiefs v Maritzburg United (FNB Stadium)
Sunday: Mpumalanga Black Aces v SuperSport United (Mbombela Stadium), Polokwane City v Golden Arrows (Peter Mokaba Stadium).
