Chippa need to show grit, resilience against Sekhukhune

Chippa United will need to show grit and resilience at the back if they want to keep Sekhukhune United from scoring easily when the sides clash at Buffalo City Stadium in KuGompo City on May 5 (7.30pm).

These are the sentiments shared by head coach Vusumuzi Vilakazi as he prepares his troops for this crucial encounter after their disappointing 5-1 defeat to AmaZulu at the weekend.

However, despite the weekend’s result, the former Richards Bay mentor remains hopeful that his team will remain in the Betway Premiership come next season.

We need to make sure that we rectify our defensive structure in terms of making sure that we are stubborn and we are not easily penetrated.
— Vusumuzi Vilakazi, Chippa United head coach

The Gqeberha outfit currently are 13th on the table with 24 points from 26 games, teetering just four points above automatic relegation and three points clear of the playoff zone.

Chippa have only collected four points from a possible 12 in their last four league matches.

“We are going to face Sekhukhune, who are also not doing well right now,” Vilakazi said.

“We are going to face TS Galaxy, who are also not doing well right now, but the game against Sekhukhune we are playing at home, so we have to try to redeem ourselves and make sure that we get those three points.

“So, we can’t give up now, and leading by four points, you might see it as just a small margin, but it’s not. We’ll have to win two games; we are not going to wait for other people as well.

“Yes, today we suffered against AmaZulu, but we can only take the positive from this game and try to redeem ourselves in our next game when we play Sekhukhune at home.”

He said it was a difficult loss to take, but they had to be positive irrespective of the scoreline.

“I mean, teams get beaten by five goals and come back stronger in their next game.

“I still remember there was a game we lost by five goals to Stellies, if I’m not mistaken, and the next game we won by five goals.

“Yes, we need to make sure that we rectify our defensive structure in terms of making sure that we are stubborn and we are not easily penetrated.

“But I am not going to focus on the score today; I am going to focus on the positives and also focus on the errors where we need to pay serious attention.

“So, we don’t find ourselves conceding five goals in our next game.”

After TS Galaxy, Chippa will face Golden Arrows and Kaizer Chiefs in their last two fixtures for the season.