Cape Town City boss Jan Olde Riekerink is feeling rather positive about his side’s chances ahead of their Premier Soccer League clash against Kaizer Chiefs on Wednesday. However, he knows three points won’t come easy, with the Amakhosi are equally fired up to win as they continue to chase a top-eight finish.
Chiefs will host Cape Town City at FNB Stadium, with the Amakhosi looking to maintain their recent impressive form of eight games unbeaten across the PSL and the CAF Champions League.
Amakhosi currently lie in ninth place on the log and face the Citizens who are two spots above them. However, both sides are separated by nine points and a win for either team could bring about some implications on the table.
Riekerink is also well aware that Gavin Hunt’s men are in a critical phase together with Stellenbosch, Bloemfontein Celtic, Baroka FC and TS Galaxy.
“We know that Kaizer Chiefs is a big team with a big history and they have a good squad. We are aware of their qualities,” said Riekerink ahead of Wednesday’s clash.
“I also think that they have also only lost once in their last nine games. They are in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. And they also have ambitions to be in the top eight. It is also an important phase for them in the competition, so it will be two teams with ambition, so hopefully, we will go out and get the result in the way we played against SuperSport.”
City come into the game against Chiefs with high spirits, having overseen a three-game unbeaten run including their most recent 3-0 thumping of SuperSport United last time out. Riekerink believes such a win should give his side the needed confidence as they prepare to take on a side with a lot of pedigree.
“I think it was very important that we had the result in the last game against SuperSport. We played very good football and finally it resulted in goals and we didn’t concede any,” Riekerink said.
“For the morale side of things, it was very important that game. We know we end the season in a very good way, so let’s focus on that. If you see the fixtures, besides Sundowns in our last game, we are all facing teams that are below us. If we have the ambition we can show it in these games.”
The last time Chiefs lost a game dates all the way back to the End of February when they were thrashed 4-0 by Wydad Casablanca in the CAF Champions League. No doubt, City have a tough task lying in wait ahead of them.