Fernando Da Cruz unhappy with early Kaizer Chiefs meeting against Mamelodi Sundowns

Kaizer Chiefs coach Fernando Da Cruz says he is disappointed that his side must face Mamelodi Sundowns so early in the league season, particularly because the match comes during a demanding period of the fixture schedule.

Chiefs will meet Sundowns on Saturday, only three days after securing a comfortable 2-0 victory over Sekhukhune United at FNB Stadium.

Second-half goals from Luke Baartman and Mduduzi Shabalala earned Da Cruz’s team the points against Sekhukhune, but the coach believes the contest with Sundowns would have been better placed later in the campaign.

Da Cruz also highlighted the physical demands of playing three matches in six days, while every other PSL team will play three games across seven days. Despite his concerns, he insisted the scheduling would not be used as an excuse and said Chiefs would aim to claim maximum points.

“I’m a little disappointed because, on the one hand, it happens so early and, on the other, 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,” Da Cruz told the media during the post-match conference.

“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.

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

“It’s [Sundowns] 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.”

The match will provide an early test of Chiefs’ progress against the side Da Cruz regards as the strongest team on the continent. Sundowns’ status was strengthened by their Champions League success last season, and the Kaizer Chiefs manager believes the fixture will show whether his players can compete at that level.

Da Cruz was encouraged by the response to the midweek victory, which followed a 1-0 defeat by Golden Arrows in the MTN8 quarter-final last week.

The Chiefs coach said his side had needed to move away from a cautious approach after a tactical opening period against Sekhukhune. He was particularly pleased with the way his players responded to his half-time instructions and converted their improvement into goals.

“It was a tactical game, especially in the first half, and at half time I told the team to play with freedom. So, I’m very happy because we made that with success and we scored goals.”

Chiefs will now attempt to carry that momentum into Saturday’s meeting with Sundowns, despite having limited time to recover from their win at FNB Stadium.