AmaZulu FC head coach Pablo Franco Martin has raised a complaint about his side’s next fixture against Orlando Pirates in the DStv Premiership.
Usuthu defeated Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 on the road on Saturday in the Carling Knockout Cup to book a spot in the quarter-finals. They are next in action against the Buccaneers in the league on Tuesday, 24 October at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.
The match was supposed to take place on 3 October, however, it was rescheduled due to the MTN8 final that was going to be played on the 7th.
Mamelodi Sundowns and Pirates, who were the top eight finalists, were allowed enough time to prepare for the showdown.
Martin feels playing on Tuesday is not fair for his troops who’d have only one day [Monday] to prepare as they had to travel back to Durban on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Sea Robbers played home on Friday, brushing aside Cape Town Spurs 2-0 to go through to the next round of the Knockout.
Jose Riveiro’s side, who didn’t need to travel for their fixture against the Urban Warriors, would then have a weekend and Monday to get ready for the Usuthu clash.
AMAZULU COACH PABLO FRANCO MARTIN RAISES COMPLAINT ABOUT ORLANDO PIRATES FIXTURE
“To be honest, I don’t expect much because I think it’s not fair to play on Tuesday,” Martin said.
“It was something unexpected. This is something coming from PSL, they postponed the game that we had to play before the MTN8 final.
“I know that I was going to have an advantage, playing four days before the final. But then to have that game on Tuesday when we have [another] crucial game [against Chippa United] on Saturday. Travelling after travelling today [last Saturday], playing today at 6, we cannot travel back home.
“That means we are going to have only Monday not even to prepare for that game because it’s the previous day before the game.”
Martin believes with enough preparations, they would have what it takes to claim a victory against the mighty Soweto giants.
He says things should be done fair for everyone who’s in the league.
‘THINGS SHOULD BE FAIR FOR EVERYONE’
“With preparation, I feel that this team is not going to fear anyone. We are ready to compete with anyone and we are capable of beating anyone,” he added.
“Without the preparation, with no time to rest, with players who are now in the ice trying to…let’s see if they [are ready] for that game.
“It’s going to be much more difficult and even more when they played yesterday and you know how it works. But I think I need to say like that because it’s not fair at all.
“And I think things should be fair for everyone because we are all fighting for the same objective. We all have families we have to feed.
“This is about that, we all want to win. We don’t want to go with the reserve team to the official games. We don’t want to go with players with risk of potential injuries because we are overloading them. Or they are tired and can’t perform in a way they should.”
The match between AmaZulu and Orlando Pirates will kick off at 7:30 pm.
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