TS Galaxy get taste of Confed tricks and mind games in Seychelles

24 August 2019 - 12:01 By Tiisetso Malepa
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TS Galaxy owner Tim Sukazi. FILE PHOTO
TS Galaxy owner Tim Sukazi. FILE PHOTO
Image: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images

Nedbank Cup champions TS Galaxy got to experience first hand the harsh realities that come with playing continental football on their arrival in Victoria in the Seychelles on Friday for a Caf Confederation Cup game against St Louis.

The GladAfrica Championship side, who qualified for the Confederation Cup with a shock victory over Kaizer Chiefs in the Nedbank Cup final in May, were subjected to a horrible reception by their hosts St Louis.

Galaxy are on the Indian Ocean island for their preliminary round, second-leg match on Sunday at Stade Linite as they bid to qualify in the group stages.

On landing in Victoria, the Galaxy stars could not believe their eyes after their hosts provided them with a rundown, tiny school bus that could hardly accommodate the entire squad.

Their kit and equipment had to be carried on the back of an open-bed truck that was supplied by St Louis.

The reception did not go down well with Galaxy chairman and owner Tim Sukazi,.

“Yes, there is actually a lot to be desired with our reception here in Seychelles. However, it is nothing we did not expect,” Sukazi told TimesLIVE from Seychelles via a WhatsApp message.

“The only difference is that we have been hearing about these type of things, but now we have just been confronted with reality.”

Sukazi said the treatment was in contrast with the red carpet Galaxy rolled out in the first leg in Mbombela, Nelspruit, as Dan Malesela’s charges gained the advantage with a 1-0 win last week. 

The club chairman said his team was not fazed with the mind games. He said Galaxy were focused on the job at hand and that the players were not distracted in their mission to qualify for the second round of the prestigious tournament.

“We will certainly not be distracted on our mission here,” Sukazi said.

“We are here to win our match so that we could progress to the next round and make South Africa proud – it is that simple.

The 10,000-seater Stade Linite has an artificial turf but Galaxy coach Malesela said his team had been preparing on a similar astro turf at their Panorama training base in the north of Johannesburg.

“There are a couple of astro turf fields at our training grounds that we will use to prepare for this match,” Malesela said.


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