Nothing Friendly About This Friendly!

Both Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns will appreciate the opportunity to get some action during the international break when they lock horns in the Shell Helix Cup at FNB Stadium on Saturday.

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After the Brazilians edged Amakhosi in the inaugural game last year at the same venue, the Soweto giants will no doubt be looking to get the better of the Tshwane giants, having made a good start in the current campaign. Soccer Laduma’s Tshepang Mailwane speaks to Amakhosi legend William Shongwe about the progress the Soweto giants have made since the start of the season and finds out if head coach Ernst Middendorp will be tempted to give fringe players a run or go with the regulars to prepare for their next competitive match. We also chat to Sundowns’ Wayne Arendse who reveals how the preparations for this game have been going.

You can tweak it now and then, but…

Tshepang Mailwane: What do you make of the start Kaizer Chiefs have made to their league campaign?

William Shongwe: Without a doubt, the start they’ve made has brought a lot of hope to the Chiefs faithful, but I want to be clear on this… That does not mean that Chiefs are playing that well. At the moment, they are winning games but coming from where they were in the previous seasons, I’m sure they will take this and run. I’m sure (Ernst) Middendorp is aware of that fact, that the team is still not functioning at the highest possible level. There’s been a bit of fortune on their side in the last few games whereby they were able to get decisions, but that obviously is part of the game and it will happen now and again, and along the way it might turn against them where they don’t have that fortune. So, it’s part of the game, but what this has given Middendorp is some time to work on other aspects of the game.