SuperSport United pair Lyle Lakay and striker Keenan Bezuidenhout have pinned their hopes of beating Kaizer Chiefs on their coach Gavin Hunt’s understanding of Amakhosi, whom he has previously coached.
SuperSport and Chiefs clash in a Premiership match at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Wednesday (7.30pm). Hunt coached Amakhosi between September 2020 and May 2021.
“We know how Chiefs play and I think coach [Hunt] will plan accordingly for them because he knows them well,” Lakay said after their 1-1 draw against Botswana side Gaborone United in the first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup second preliminary phase at Botswana National Stadium on Saturday.
The 21-year-old Bezuidenhout, who scored Matsatsantsa’s only goal in Botswana, echoed Lakay’s view. “Obviously Chiefs, we all know, are a big team but I think coach Gavin will know what to do ... he understands Chiefs pretty well. So, we just need to listen to him and stick to whatever he says is a plan,” he said.
Lakay, 32, is thrilled to be back at Supersport, a club where he cut his professional teeth as a 19-year-old tricky winger in 2010 under Hunt. The well-travelled Lakay is raring to find the back of the net, bemoaning the chances he’s missed since his return a few weeks ago.
“So far so good, I am happy to be back. The main thing for me is obviously to open my account. I have had a few opportunities to do so, but I missed chances,” Lakay said.
The former Mamelodi Sundowns man aims to rack up a significant number of goals and assists like he did in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons, when he made 13 goal contributions in both seasons. In the 2020/21 term he managed five goals and eight assists, before racking up four goals and nine assists the next season.
“I want to get back to where I was. I think it was two seasons ago, where I finished the season with double figures with assists and goals. I think I did it for two, three seasons in a row and last season I only got two assists, so now I want to get to that level,” Lakay said.
Fixtures
Wednesday: Galaxy vs CPT, Mbombela (7.30pm); Pirates vs Sundowns, Orlando (7.30pm); SuperSport vs Chiefs, Peter Mokaba (7.30pm)
MTN8 semifinal second leg
Saturday: Sundowns vs Chiefs, Lucas Moripe (3pm)
Sunday: Pirates vs Stellenbosch, Orlando (3pm)
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