Arrows aim to bring Tuks down
Lamontville Golden Arrows will look to resume their Absa Premiership campaign on a positive note when they visit the University of Pretoria at the Tuks Stadium on Wednesday, kick-off at 19:30 CAT, (SA, GMT+2)
Abafana Bes’thende ended 2012 on the wrong foot as they went down 2-0 to Orlando Pirates, but there were some positive signs prior to that as they had lost just one of their last four fixtures.
Manqoba Mngqithi’s side are currently sitting in 13th on the Absa Premiership log with 16 points from as many matches and still in search of their first away win of the season.
However, fullback Mzivukile Tom believes a change in attitude will help them to improve on their poor record on the road which consists of three draws and four losses.
“The spirit is good, we’ve kept most of the players who were regulars in the first round and we’re all looking forward to playing so that we can improve our log position,” said Tom.
“We’ve added some new faces and hopefully we will all improve together as a team.
“The game against Tuks will be a difficult one because they’ve done well since gaining promotion and they did beat us earlier this season.
“It’s not that we underestimated them but we were unlucky to lose that game and this time we will be going for maximum points even though we’ll be playing away from home.
“We are not going to read too much to their home advantage because at the end of the day we all have to play on one field and we’ll try to play our normal game.”
Steve Barker’s side are currently placed sixth on the Absa Premiership log with 23 points from 16 matches and go into this clash on a four match unbeaten streak, with the last two matches against Kaizer Chiefs and Maritzburg United ending in 1-1 draws.
However, AmaTuks defender Tebogo Monyai says they are fully aware that they will be one of the main targets during the second round of the season as their credentials as one of the top-placed sides will be put under the test.
“We’ve been working hard since the beginning of January; we haven’t experienced any injuries and everyone is looking good and looking forward to consolidating our position in the top eight,” said Monyai.
“It will be very important for us to win our first game of the year, although we are fully aware that Arrows will be difficult opponents.
“We have not been doing well at home and this is something that we are determined to change, so this will be another challenge for us on Wednesday.”
When the two sides met in Durban earlier this season AmaTuks absorbed the pressure before Mpho Maruping opened the scoring late in the first half and managed to keep Arrows at bay after the break.
However, Monyai is adamant that they are willing to take the initiative this time around as they are determined to collect maximum points.
“The approach will be attacking from the first whistle; we’ll be playing at home and there’s no need to sit back and relax,” he said.
“At the same time we have to be cautious because we don’t want them to score the first goal.
“Even though we beat them in the first round we know that this time they will come prepared but we will also be ready for them.”
