Maritzburg: Chiefs can be beat

20 November 2015 - 02:24 By Khanyiso Tshwaku

A solitary win does not a summer make, but it does wonders for confidence. Maritzburg United players have a new spring in their step after clinching their first victory of the season against the University of Pretoria two weeks ago.While they face PSL champions Kaizer Chiefs tomorrow at the Harry Gwala Stadium, Maritzburg go into the game with some much-needed confidence. The Chiefs have 17 points after 10 games, and are fifth on the log.Maritzburg have only collected four points from 10 games .Midfielder Kurt Lentjies knows Chiefs are an entirely different proposition to the ailing AmaTuks unit they beat, but a formidable opponent is not necessarily an invincible one.Chiefs beat Maritzburg 5-3 in the MTN8 quarterfinal in August.Said Lentjies: "Any team is beatable on any day, whether [it is] Barcelona or Real Madrid."The coach that we had in our corner last season [Steve Komphela] is now sitting in [the Chiefs'] corner."Last year's results don't count for anything. When the ball is [in play], all the statistics go out of the window," Lentjies said."Yes we lost the cup game, but we are focused on the situation that we're in now and every game that we play in counts. We want to get maximum points regardless of who we face. It's not a revenge game, it's a matter of us getting what we need."Maritzburg coach Clive Barker believes the team is finally finding its feet, and he knows that his players will not take Chiefs lightly.He said: "When you play a team like Polokwane City, the players will talk about their girlfriends, wives and their parents. Everybody talks about everything except the opposition. When it comes to a game like this one, everybody looks over their shoulder and they're quiet. You don't have to motivate them, but you just need to point them in the right direction."A salvage job is very possible, but miracles must not be expected because there's a lot of work that needs to be done. If we can get a result here and another one somewhere along the line, we'll be okay. However, my immediate worry is Chiefs and I'll let everything take care of itself."..

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