Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi has challenged his players to step up and silence Stellenbosch in the Nedbank Cup quarter-final game to be staged at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
This will be the third time the two teams are meeting in the ongoing campaign. The Glamour Boys have won the last two meetings, both in the Premier Soccer League, and Stellies will be aiming at avenging the losses.
While Chiefs have not had a consistent PSL campaign, Stellies have been doing relatively well despite their busy schedule. They are currently third on the table with 31 points, three more than eighth-placed Amakhosi.
Chiefs are expecting a tough game
Coach Nasreddine Nabi is not anticipating an easy outing against the MTN8 finalists who are also in the Caf Confederation Cup quarter-final.
“We’re playing against a big team that is still in the CAF Confederation Cup this season with an experienced technical staff. We believe that it will be a tough game and we don’t believe for one second that the last two positive results that we got against them are going to count in this one,” he said in a pre-match interview.
“Even those games were very tight and we’re expecting a tough game. We’ll be there to defend our chances and we’ll do everything possible to produce a good performance and go as far as we can in this Nedbank Cup.”
Nabi challenges the players to step up
The Tunisian has further challenged his players to prove their mental strength by getting past Stellies in their bid to end a decade-long trophy drought.
“Mentally, our players have to understand that it’s a new game and it’s a cup game. We know that the team that we’re facing has experience in those kinds of games; cups and knockout games.
“As Kaizer Chiefs, we know that this is a great opportunity to go even further. We know that on the other hand, they’re going to play on the fact that they’ve already lost twice and they will not want to do it for a third time.”
