Publications
Partners
Cape Town - AmaZulu goalkeeper Tapuwa Kapini is confident that the club will be able to build on the platform created during the 2-1 victory against the University of Pretoria on Tuesday.
Read: Usuthu get first league win
The win was the club’s first of the season and while it has not helped Usuthu escape the relegation zone, it has certainly enhanced the Durban club’s prospects of rescuing the campaign, at the very least.
AmaZulu are now on seven points after the first twelve rounds of football, just four behind a struggling Free State Stars. If Stars fail to accumulate any points against Bloemfontein Celtic on Wednesday, AmaZulu will certainly be in the position to move up a position by the end of the weekend, after they play against Mpumalanga Black Aces.
"I don’t want to lie, we’re so happy as players and as a team in general. The win was long overdue and I believe that it will open doors," Kapini told journalists.
It just so happens that this win coincides with the recent appointment of Steve Barker as the club’s new coach and Kapini believes that he actually does deserve considerable credit for what has transpired during the past 24 hours.
"Credit goes to the coach, he said to us before the match, we need to believe in ourselves, we’re the best and we must enjoy the game," added Kapini.
The one aspect that might have been missing in this AmaZulu dressing room during the first five months of this campaign, has been motivation and the desire to win. Kapini believes that this has now been adequately addressed.
"He said God will give us strength to collect the three points and fortunately we made it - I think he’s a great motivator," added Kapini.
Naturally, the focus has shifted to ensuring that the club finishes the first half of the campaign in a credible position. Kapini now believes that this objective will be realised.
"He [Barker] managed to bring back the confidence in us and our target is to win all our next matches at home."
"It’s like he was here for many seasons, you know, we just clicked when working with him in our first training," added the AmaZulu stopper.
"We enjoyed his drills and I’m glad the guys just responded positively to his instructions - his methods will definitely benefit the team. I’m happy to dedicate the win to him, the supporters and the management for having faith in us."
