Baxter takes positives from Stars flop ahead of knockout showdown against Sundowns

25 August 2016 - 19:00 By Tiisetso Malepa

SuperSport United got their PSL campaign off to a faltering start by losing 1-0 away at Platinum Stars on Wednesday evening but coach Stuart Baxter said that his team will take a number of positives from his side’s display in Rustenburg. Matsatsantsa dominated for the majority of the match and carved out better goal scoring chances than their hosts‚ but the visitors narrowly went down to a 10-men Dikwena side at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium thanks to a 62nd minute strike from Robert Ng'ambi.They face cross town rivals Mamelodi Sundowns in the quarterfinals of the MTN8 Cup at Loftus Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Kickoff is at 3pm.SuperSport‚ who had 18 attempts at goal compared to the measly five managed by Stars‚ failed to capitalise on the many chances they created despite their numerical advantage after Sphamandla Mlilo was sent off for a second bookable offence.“Look when they got down to 10 men‚ I turned around and told Kaitano (assistant coach) on the bench: ‘we were dominating with eleven men‚ and now the feeling (among players)‚ I could see‚ it was spreading that it’s going to be okay now‚ we going to turn this over.“I didn’t like the results but if we keep playing like that I know that the results will be different because I know that players like (Jeremy) Brockie and Thuso (Phala) won’t miss those chances. Baxter will need his forwards to be right on the mark if they’re to upset the reigning PSL champions‚ Sundowns‚ who advanced to this year’s CAF Champions League semi finalists as group winners despite losing 3-1 away at Nigerian giants Enyimba in their last match of the group stages.And the former Kaizer Chiefs mentor‚ who said he had no difficulties preparing for the Sundowns showdown‚ is of the view that Wednesday night’s performance left his team with enough positives ahead of the potentially explosive knockout match against their rivals.“There are positives to take into the Sundowns game‚ absolutely. And I think we got a free hit at Sundowns a little bit so we won’t be shy.“I think we know the players that Pitso has got‚ we know the style that they like to play and their coach can try to tweak here and there but I don’t think it’s difficult to monitor them‚” said Baxter.Five things we hope to see in the coming PSL seasonStrap on your seatbelts and brace yourselves for the new Premier Soccer League (PSL) season. Despite their season-opening defeat‚ the three-time PSL champions are still one of favourites for the PSL’s 2016-17 title.Matsatsantsa’s second half of last season‚ after Stuart Baxter replaced a struggling Gordon Igesund‚ saw them show character to ensure the club’s 16th consecutive top eight finish by edging into eighth on the final day.Baxter will be desperate for a confidence-boosting victory over Sundowns ahead of tough assignments in the League – at home against high-flying Chippa United on September 14 before travelling to Maritzburg United seven days later.For Sundowns‚ who only kickoff their title defence on September 14 away at Maritzburg‚ will want nothing less than victory over their arch rivals to kick start their 2016/17 campaign on a high.- TMG Digital..

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