Publications
Partners
Cape Town - Kaizer Chiefs and SuperSport United head into the second-leg of their MTN8 semi-final tie at the FNB Stadium on Saturday looking to finish the job as the score is locked at 2-2.
The first leg affair played last weekend saw Amakhosi going ahead through Khama Billiat before the Tshwane team hit back with a Bradley Grobler brace and then Leonardo Castro grabbed an equaliser, the result extending SuperSport's unbeaten run against Chiefs to seven games.
In subsequent midweek league action, Matsatsantsa beat Chippa United 2-1, while the Glamour Boys saw Bloemfontein Celtic fighting back to grab a 2-2 draw.
With Billiat and Castro in excellent form up front, supported ably by the likes of Dumisani Zuma and Siphelele Ntshangase, there appears to be a real potency in the Chiefs attack.
It's in defence however where coach Giovanni Solinas is looking for improvement.
"We played very well we had the game under control. We switched off, lost concentration and we conceded two stupid goals. It's a pity because we lost two points," the Italian commented on the Celtic game.
"Celtic did not create any chances. They were not dangerous. We lost the mentality. We were soft defensively. We need to improve our defensive job.
"We need to fix these mistakes. However, it's not only individual problems. I repeat, the fault lies not only with one player," he continued.
"We need to solve this problem as a collective because it's not only the defensive department."
SuperSport coach Kaitano Tembo meanwhile will be asking his men not to allow themselves to become too preoccupied with Billiat, as that could open gaps for Chiefs in other parts of the pitch.
"I'm not happy with our defending because I think we were more worried about Khama's pace and we kept on dropping and dropping where sometime we were supposed to track and then release," he said of the first leg match.
In team news, Chiefs are currently short on goalkeepers, with Virgil Vries out injured, while Itumeleng Khune remains doubtful after he missed the midweek game through injury.
Neither team has any suspensions, although Dean Furman and Siphosakhe Nyiya-Ntiya are one caution away from a ban.
Saturday night's match is set for a 20:15 kick-off.
