5 November 2008

Maritzburg nearly at full strength for derby

With the exception of Fadlu Davids, coach Gordon Igesund has close to a full strength squad for this afternoon's clash against Golden Arrows.

The match takes place at the Woodburn Stadium, with kick-off set for 3.30pm.

Gary Goldstone, Elias Ngwepe, Tony Tsabedze and Sam Ndlovu are all back in the mix for the Abafana Bes'thende game.

Up front, Igesund can negate the loss of Davids by turning to the likes of Bryce Aka, Tico-Tico Bucuane or Collen Zimba.

He believes that last weeks thumping by SuperSport United could serve as a wake-up call for his men.

"That result showed our guys we still have work to do. Maybe we had been a bit complacent after going four matches unbeaten as a new team in the league," said Igesund.

"But we are going to put that game behind us now and we are really looking forward to playing what is really our first official match in Pietermaritzburg. We hope to see a good crowd get behind us," said Igesund.

Maritzburg could certainly do with some partisan home support - in Arrows they face a side on a six-match unbeaten run and brimming with confidence.

Richard Henyekane has already hit the back of the net six times this season, while skipper Kagiso Dikgacoi is a class act who must certainly be destined for greater things and can dictate a game from the middle of the park.

Igesund is hoping that the return to the side of some of his more experienced campaigners will help to keep the Durban side's strike force at bay.

“My players know that we made a lot of mistakes, but at the same time I had my most experienced defenders, like Gary Goldstone and Elias Ngwepe, out. They are back for the match and we should be tight again in defence.”