Chippa United coach Thabo September believes their back-to-back matches against Mamelodi Sundowns will be a test of how strong they will be for next season.
The Chilli Boys host Sundowns in the Premier Soccer League at Buffalo City Municipality Stadium on Wednesday (7.30pm) after losing 3-0 to them at Loftus Versfeld Stadium last week.
With Sundowns looking to wrap the league title in style by winning their last two matches, September said they don't want to be a walkover for them again in this game.
“We are going into the game trying to get something out of it, and do well. It is our last match at home, there is an opportunity of making the top eight,” September said.
“We are playing soon-to-be champions of the league [before last night's match between Orlando Pirates and Golden Arrows at Orlando Stadium], we don't want to go there and be a walkover for Sundowns.
“We want to compete and see how strong we are as a team and this is going to test us for next season with the players we have. There is a lot at stake for us. We will go out there and fight.”
September added that they will need to avoid making unnecessary mistakes this time after they were punished last week for their errors. “It's a good thing, it is a test for the players to play against the best team twice in a row. It is going to make them stronger,” he said.
“It's tough to beat Sundowns, especially if you make the type of mistakes we did. We defended well in the first half, well-structured.
“Conceding the first goal was a difficult thing because it is something we spoke about and then we conceded a second, it was more about individual mistakes.
“It killed us a bit and Sundowns do capitalise on the mistakes you do. We did well in the second half, a good positive to take out of that and the way we approached the second half was good. Also, again, conceding from our possession when we had the ball and then we just lost it in the middle of the park and one pass broke the defence.
“Don't make too many mistakes against a team like Sundowns, try to minimise them.”
The Chilli Boys are eighth on the log table with 30 points, tied with Kaizer Chiefs and Marumo Gallants.
Wednesday: Chippa vs Sundowns, Buffalo City Municipality (7.30pm)
Saturday: Stellenbosch vs SuperSport, Danie Craven (3pm); Bay vs Arrows, King Zwelithini (3pm); Polokwane vs CPT City, Old Peter Mokaba (3pm); Pirates vs Galaxy, Orlando (3pm); Sekhukhune vs Chiefs, Peter Mokaba (3pm); Gallants vs Chippa, Seisa Ramabodu (3pm).
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