Gavin Hunt: Wits are under the spolight after wins against Chiefs and Pirates

10 September 2016 - 14:26 By Marc Strydom

Bidvest Wits are under the spotlight‚ coach Gavin Hunt admitted ahead of his side’s first leg of their MTN8 semifinal against Cape Town City at Bidvest Stadium on Saturday night (8.15pm). Hunt said his side are up against a dangerous unknown quantity in the new PSL team owned by John Comitis‚ who bought the franchise of Mpumalanga Black Aces and relocated the side to Cape Town.Wits have started with 2-1 wins against both Soweto giants at Bidvest Stadium‚ beating Kaizer Chiefs in the league and Orlando Pirates in the MTN8 quarterfinals.They have made strong signings. Hunt said the team are aware of the resultant hype and expectation that the Clever Boys should end their trophy drought under the coach in his previous three seasons there‚ finishing third‚ third and second in the PSL.“There’s pressure from the media. Obviously after beating two teams like Chiefs and Pirates in your first two games‚ the media say a lot of things around that‚” Hunt said.“But it’s fine. We’re quite happy. We know where we are – we’re building a team again‚ and introducing new players again.“And I’m still trying to find what’s the best for the side‚ and what sort of characters we’ve got. And you don’t find that out in preseason.“You find out in real games what they’ve really got – and we’ve only had two so far.”Hunt said he has been impressed by the start made by City under former Orlando Pirates coach Eric Tinkler.The Cape side beat Polokwane City 2-0 in the league then Chiefs in the MTN8‚ both at Cape Town Stadium.“They’ve played the first two games with great desire. And I think that – I don’t know if they’ve bought or loaned or what – but they’ve done very well in the market‚” Hunt said.“They got some good‚ experienced players. And we’re under no illusions what a difficult game this will be over two legs.“You can’t really know what two expect from it being over two legs. Last year we thought it was good to play away first‚ but then we lost‚ and Ajax Cape Town went on to win the cup.“This is a good team and well organised by Eric.“I’m not sure exactly how many numbers they kept‚ but they kept the nucleus of the team Aces had.“They lost a lot of defenders‚ so they’ve pretty much had to rebuild the whole team.“In saying that‚ they’ve got a lot of good attacking players left from last season. They’ve got a new impetus‚ a new lifeline‚ and a new feel about the team.”The second leg of the semifinal will be played at Cape Town City on Saturday‚ September 17.TMG Digital/TMG Sport..

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