Golden Arrows will have it all to do in the KZN derby when they lock horns with Royal AM at the Princess Magogo Stadium on Saturday as they look to keep their dreams of qualifying for the top eight alive.
Abafana Besthende’s chances of finishing in the top eight suffered a major blow when they played a goalless draw against Marumo Gallants this past weekend. They were coming from a narrow 1-0 loss to relegation-threatened Baroka.
Arrows interim coach Vusimuzi Vilakazi knows they will have their work cut out against the MaMkhize-owned outfit. “Our game against Royal AM is not gonna be an easy game, considering the fact that we are playing a derby and obviously in the first round we played a draw against them [Royal AM].
“But, come Saturday it’s gonna be a different ball game because we need these points in order to finish in the top eight. Obviously, we know that we are not playing against an easy team, we need to work very hard in order to be victorious,” said Vilakazi.
Arrows’ stand-in coach has noted Royal AM’s defensive frailties and is convinced they can capitalise on them.
“Obviously they are very good with transition and we’ll need to contain them but also capitalise on their weaknesses because defensively they are not one of the best. We’re also good on transition, so we’ll have to compete because there’s a thin line between us and the top eight, I think we need it [win] more than them,” added the 39-year-old tactician.
On the other hand, John Maduka’s Royal AM will be looking to end their four-game winless run in all competitions when they take on the 2009 MTN8 Champions on Saturday. They are also pushing for a second-place finish and must win to keep up pace with Cape Town City. The kick-off is at 15:00.
