Chiefs midfielder Keagan Dolly adds spice to Soweto derby, says he's not scared of Pirates

Kaizer Chiefs' attacking midfielder Keagan Dolly has provided the much-needed spice to the Soweto derby at FNB Stadium on Saturday by saying he is not scared of Orlando Pirates. 

Dolly's proclamation is a breath of fresh and brave as both camps usually resort to dull and scripted soft talk about mutual respect in the build-up to this match that is expected to be played in front of a full house.

Dolly, who recently returned after a long injury layoff, is expected to play a crucial part for Amakhosi as they will be looking to make it two wins in a row after beating Cape Town Spurs.

Chiefs’ win over struggling Spurs moved them to seventh spot on the standings with 14 points from 11 matches and a win will go a long way for interim coach Cavin Johnson who will be participating in his first Soweto derby. 

Pirates will also be motivated as they go into this clash on the back of a hard-fought win over Sekhukhune United that moved them to tenth spot on the log with 12 points nine matches. 

‘I am not scared of them, I have played four and won four against them,’ said Dolly in isiZulu in a statement that has provided a much-needed talking point ahead of the match. 

Chiefs have an interim coach in Johnson after the departure of Molefi Ntseki and Dolly said he hasn’t struggled to acclimatise to a new coach. 

“The older you get, the easier it gets to adjust to different coaches and their tactics because of the amount of coaches you have worked with before. At the end of the day, football is football and we play with one ball with the aim of scoring goals and winning games.

“It gets a little bit easier but it still doesn’t get that easy for a player to just change and adjust but having been in the game a long time definitely helps.” 

Dolly, who has won all four of his derbies against Pirates, also spoke about the impact younger players like Mduduzi Shabalala, Nkosingiphile Ngcobo and Samkelo Zwane may have in the match. 

Mduduzi and Mshini (Ngcobo) have played in the derby before and Zwane has been part of the team for some time now. They know the importance of this occasion but it is about us as a team sticking to our processes and our targets which is to try to win every game we play.”