Chippa United will make their return to Buffalo City Stadium in KuGompo City when they face Milford in a Betway Premiership soccer match on Saturday (3pm).
The fixture comes after the Eastern Cape club played their past four matches either on neutral or away soil due to their two venues, Buffalo City Stadium and Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha, being under maintenance.
They will hope being back on their own shores will change their fortunes as their run so far has been shaky.
Already the chatter is that the club is not impressed with head coach Brandon Truter’s results so far and he could face the axe if the form does not change.
Truter took charge of the team in the closing stages of the league last season following a wave of chopping and changing of mentors at the club.
He has chalked up three draws and suffered a loss against Orlando Pirates.
Those outcomes have meant Chippa are in 13th place.
Truter has said previously that the reason they find themselves in this position was due to lapses in focus and poor decision-making under pressure.
He will hope none of that transpires against league rookies, Milford, who have proven to be a tricky side with their 6-2-2 formation that sees their wing backs drop deep into the defensive line to create a dense wall of six defenders, choking out spaces in the half-spaces and wide areas.
They have won two of their five games, drawn one and been beaten only by Mamelodi Sundowns, on Wednesday, and Pirates.
“We are closer to getting those three points, especially now coming back home to the Eastern Cape and coming back to our home supporters,” Truter said.
In the Sundowns match, Milford stood resolute for 45 minutes and their defence did not crack, despite the African champions bombarding them with pressure.
That spirited fight in the first half, said head coach Xanti Pupuma, who hails from the rural town of Nqamakwe near Mthatha, was a big positive heading into the Chippa match.
He told reporters in his post-match press conference that his team needed to improve their finishing, saying it was an area of concern.
“It’s motivating that the team can compete with African champions and the league champions, Orlando Pirates; that is among the positives that we take heading to the next game (Chippa United),“ Pupuma said. “We have not disappointed ourselves.
“For us, being the new kids on the block, we are doing well, but we have to improve our final third because teams in the Betway Premiership finish their chances as compared to where we come from (Motsepe Championship Foundation).”
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