COACH ERNST LOOKING FORWARD TO KZN PREMIERS CUP 2021
3 August 2021
Maritzburg United head coach Ernst Middendorp has paid tribute to the organisers of the 2021 KZN Premiers Cup and is looking forward to a competitive tournament for his team.
Football in KwaZulu-Natal has been in a healthy state over the past few seasons, with clubs from the province performing very well in both the top flight, the PSL, and the second tier, now known as the GladAfrica Championship.
As a result, it’s mouthwatering tournament ahead this weekend, Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 August, at the Chatsworth Stadium in Durban, with Maritzburg joined in the competition by AmaZulu, Golden Arrows, Uthongathi, Richards Bay and Royal AM.
The matches will serve as excellent preparation for the upcoming season and Team of Choice head coach Ernst Middendorp is pleased that his team are involved.
"In this very difficult time for each and everyone, to get an event like this organized, deserves definitely a huge compliment for the stakeholders involved, no doubt about it,” Middendorp said.
While the PSL clubs might be favourites on paper, Maritzburg’s coach knows well that the lower tier teams will provide some stern competition.
"It's not about big teams or small teams, definitely not. In Germany Bayern Munich played four games in the pre-season and they lost three games and one draw,” coach Ernst pointed out.
"It's a stage where each and everybody tries to be competitive, the start of the season for some teams is different. I hope we have a good competitive tournament - results of course starts to be important."
First up for Maritzburg is a quarter-final clash against Uthongathi, on Saturday morning at 11am.
"Nobody wants to go into a game to lose - whether it is a test game, a PSL game or a top eight game,” coach Ernst said.
“Therefore when we go into this game we have a very clear ambition to qualify for the next round.”
The other quarter-final on Saturday is between Royal AM and Richards Bay (who finished second and third last season in the First Division). Golden Arrows and AmaZulu have been given a bye in the opening round and will participate in the semi-finals on Sunday.
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