Chilli Boys look to spice up Stars
Chippa United are set to make their Absa Premiership home debut on Tuesday evening when they host Free State Stars. The match will take place at 7:30pm CAT (SA, GMT+2) at Athlone Stadium.
Having managed to fend off Mamelodi Sundowns for the better half of their PSL opener last weekend, Chippa will be hoping to score their first goal of the Premiership season in their opening match in Cape Town
Larry Cohen admits he is proud of his teammates and is looking forward to making his debut after clearance troubles saw him miss out the first league match.
“I am very excited to be making my debut,” admitted the 24-year-old. “It will be my first PSL game and hopefully I can provide Chippa with some experience.
“Even though we lost against Sundowns I believe we played really well. Defensively we were strong and we managed to hold them back until the 80th minute or so.”
Ea Lla Koto come into the game off the back of a 2-0 win over Bidvest Wits, but the Chilli Boys are looking to spice up the league by putting a spanner in the works and giving some joy to their home fans.
“Against Free State Stars we need to attack more and use the counter attack more regularly against the bigger teams like Downs and Chiefs,” added Cohen.
“I don’t think that Free State Stars are weaker. They lost players but they still won against Wits and we respect them.
“It will be important for the fans that we can get a win but also for ourselves. Most of these players helped carry Chippa through to the PSL last season and I think on an individual level it will be important to win.”
Despite securing all three points in Bethlehem, Stars have been placed under scrutiny for the sale of Edward Manqele to Sundowns and Mzikayise Mashaba’s disappearance from the squad.
However the club’s PRO Lebo Maketa has tried to ensure the fans that the club is still capable of providing the goods and will do so in Cape Town.
“We saw the first PSL matches and it was a good start for us as a club having beaten Bidvest Wits 2-0 at home with the first goal coming from the veteran, [Paulus] Masehe and [Noah] Chivuta scoring the second goal.
“We have the likes of [Taonga] Dondo who plays as a striker, [Luyola] Nomandela a left winger, [Enver] Estherhuizen a right winger and Daniel Cardoso who plays in central defence.
“All these boys were scouted from the lower divisions except Estherhuizen who is from National First Division, and I’m sure everyone was impressed by their performances.
“I always tell people that players who are hungry will work for you, so just be patient and watch these hungry young boys.
“We are away on Tuesday to Chippa United in Cape Town in our second match of the league and thereafter we will be shifting our focus to the Kaizer Chiefs encounter at Charles Mopeli.”
