Da Cruz unhappy with timing of Chiefs’ Sundowns test

Kaizer Chiefs coach Fernando Da Cruz says the timing of Saturday’s meeting with reigning African champions Mamelodi Sundowns is particularly frustrating, with his side facing three matches in six days after Wednesday’s 2-0 victory over Sekhukhune United.

Da Cruz believes Chiefs have been placed at a disadvantage by the schedule, which gives them less recovery time than the rest of the Premier Soccer League teams involved in a similar run of fixtures.

Speaking through a translator, the coach highlighted both the early arrival of the match and the limited time between games as his main concerns.

“I’m a little disappointed because on the one hand it happens so early, and on the other hand it happens at a time when we’re going to play three games in six days, whereas all the other PSL teams are going to play three games in seven days,” he told the media.

The encounter with Mamelodi Sundowns will come only a short time after Chiefs’ win over Sekhukhune United, leaving Da Cruz with just one recovery day before facing a side he regards as the best in Africa.

“I’m a little disappointed because we have a day of recovery at least against a very good team that won the Champions League. So I’m a little disappointed for these two reasons that this match is happening on Saturday.”

Despite his dissatisfaction, Da Cruz made it clear that the scheduling would not be used to justify his team’s performance. The coach said Chiefs would accept the circumstances and prepare to compete without making excuses.

“But we have to play it, and we’re going to play it – but it’s not a problem, it’s not excuses. This game we’ll play because we know for the moment that it’s like that and we can change nothing.”

The Portuguese coach also views the fixture as a valuable assessment of the progress being made by his developing team. Mamelodi Sundowns’ status as the reigning African champions means the match will provide Chiefs with a demanding benchmark.

Da Cruz said the game would show how closely his squad can perform to the standard required at Champions League level, while also giving the club useful information about its current strengths and limitations.

“It’s the best team in Africa because they won the Champions League last season, but we’ll try to put our level up to the Champions League level on Saturday. This game will give us very good information about what the team is able to do.”

Chiefs therefore enter the contest after a positive result against Sekhukhune United, but with their coach openly questioning the fairness of the fixture’s placement. Da Cruz’s side must now deal with the compressed schedule before taking on Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday.