Why Casric Stars won’t dwell on history when they face Chiefs

Casric Stars players pose for a team picture ahead of a match

Casric Stars coach Bucs Mthombeni has explained why they won’t dwell on history when they clash against Kaizer Chiefs in the Nedbank Cup last 16 on Sunday, 12 March. Kickoff at FNB Stadium is at 6pm.

Chiefs has a bad track record on the competition against lower division teams.

In 2010/11 season, the Soweto giants were stunned 2-1 by then third-tier side Baroka FC in the quarter-finals.

Fast forward eight seasons later, the Glamour Boys suffered a shock 1-0 defeat against TS Galaxy in the final of the 2018/19 campaign.

HOW CASRIC STARS PLAN TO APPROACH CHIEFS MATCH

โ€œIn life, you cannot always dwell more on history. You must always think about the present and the future. I cannot think of Kaizer Chiefs losing against Tuks [University of Pretoria], then I get with the same mentality, the gaps are different in football,โ€ said Mthombeni.

Casric Stars players celebrate a goal. Picture by Casric Stars

โ€œKaizer Chiefs is a big club; we are going to go there and approach this game with respect and with the mentality of getting a result.

โ€œIโ€™m very happy; we are going to the game as underdogs. On the day, each and every player will give me 100%.โ€

MOOD IN THE CAMP

Mthombeni further revealed that he is pleased with how the preparations have been going.

He says the mood in the camp is positive, with all the players raising their hands to be in the starting XI on Sunday.

โ€œYou cannot motivate a player for this Sunday game. At training, it was like a war. I don’t even know who to play on Sunday. Even the injured one came [to me] and said, coach Iโ€™m ready,โ€ he added.

Casric will be aiming to replicate what Dondol Stars have doing in the competition.

The ABC Motsepe League side have been dubbed โ€˜giant killersโ€™. They booted out SuperSport United and AmaZulu FC out of the competition.

RELATED STORY: Dondol Stars continue giant-killing act by beating AmaZulu