Cape Town City head coach Eric Tinkler has previewed his side’s MTN8 quarterfinal clash against the high-flying AmaZulu, and he anticipates a tough game.
The Citizens will welcome Usuthu at DHL Stadium on Saturday, 27 August, with the kick-off set for 15:00.
The Cape club will be out for revenge, having lost 2-1 against the KwaZulu-Natal side in a league match almost three weeks ago.
Tinkler was asked about his team’s readiness for the MTN8 showdown following his club’s poor start to the season and took responsibility for some of Cape Town City’s ups and downs.
“Well, normally, the league starts with the MTN8. However, we are already five games into the new season, and now we face AmaZulu. Obviously, we have already played them in the league, so we know what to expect from them,” the 52-year-old Cape Town City mentor told the media.
“Unfortunately, we lost against them away, but I thought the performance wasn’t bad as we had chances to possibly win that game. But they are in pretty good form at the moment. They have found very good results and find themselves being top of the log [before the midweek fixtures], so it is not going to be an easy game.
“But hopefully now, after this win against Kaizer Chiefs, motivation, confidence, and morale will be a lot higher, and we would love to see ourselves moving on in the competition and go all the way to the final.”
After registering their first win of the season over Amakhosi, the ex-Maritzburg United coach stated that he never stopped believing in his troops despite going four games without tasting victory.
“It has not been the case of us playing poorly. It is just that the results haven’t just come,” he said in a post-match interview on Tuesday.
“We [Cape Town City] have stuck to what we believe in and continued to believe in the team.”
