…facing BA potential banana skin
WINDHOEK – Kaizer Chiefs head coach Stuart Baxter has kept true to his word that he would be rotating his squad due to their hectic domestic schedule, going into their decisive 2nd leg preliminary round of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) against Namibian champions Black Africa at the Independence Stadium tomorrow.
“By rotating, I will have the ideal opportunity to give the fringe players a chance and it’s up to them to grab the opportunity and raise their hands for starting berths, while it will also provide a much-needed breathing space for some tired legs,” said Baxter. He says he has made wholesale changes to the team that started against Black Africa in Johannesburg last weekend with number one shot-stopper and team captain Itumeleng Khune, making way for young goalkeeper Brilliant Khuzwayo, while defenders Siboniso Gaxa and Tefu Mashamaite have been excluded from the 20-member travelling squad. Chiefs’ lethal striker Knowledge Musona, is also a notable absentee, but Morgan Gould returns to the squad after the burly defender limped off in Chiefs 1-0 league triumph against SuperSports last week. The strong 37-member Amakhosi delegation will touch down at Hosea Kutako International Airport outside Windhoek today.
BA mentor, Brian Isaacs, is likely to ring few changes to his starting lineup himself and will be well-advised to include hardworking midfielder Marko van Wyk in his starting eleven, if his charges are to entertain any hopes of overturning the 3 goal deficit. Isaacs will also have to shuffle his pack in the middle of the park, where his unusually small-framed midfield trio of Klaas Blom, Denzil Haoseb and Ndjemba Mundjanima were found wanting in the first leg. Although Isaacs admits that it will be an difficult task to dislodge Chiefs, he is quick to point out that his team has a commitment to put up a decent showing, not only for the club’s followers, but the entire Namibian nation. “Obviously, playing at home will provide the players with the ideal platform to express themselves better and even if it might sound a bit farfetched to say that we can overturn the 3-0 score line, I still maintain we have the required capacity to come up with a much better and improved performance and give our visitors a good run for their money.”
“In Johannesburg, we played with two defensive midfielders in the shape of Ndjemba and Denzil, but we will have to change that format at home, because we are obliged to play more attacking football if we are to get something out of the match. So, there will be a couple of positional changes.” Uncertainty hangs over the availability of utility defender Emilio Martin, who is on the treatment table after picking up a knock in the first leg, while hard-galloping midfielder Marko van Wyk is also a doubtful starter as he tries to recover in time from a niggling injury.
By Carlos Kambaekwa