Kaizer Chiefs head coach Gavin Hunt says the fact that Simba SC beat Pitso Mosimane’s Al Ahly in this season’s Caf Champions League group stage makes the Tanzanians a ‘tough’ side to play.
Amakhosi were drawn against Simba in the Champions League quarter-finals where they will start at home, before travelling to Dar es Salaam for the second leg on the weekend of May 21-23.
Using as reference Simba’s 1-0 home win over Al Ahly in the group stage, Hunt feels they have a huge task at hand.
“It is a tough draw, any team we draw now is tough,” Hunt told Chiefs’ media.
“Simba had a good group stage, they did well, they beat Al Ahly so they are certainly a side we cannot take lightly. They will give us a tough game, either way. What we are trying to do is concentrate on the next game and we will take it from there.”
Next Match
In a season they have been blowing hot and cold especially on the domestic front, unpredictable Chiefs can pull a surprise of reaching the Champions League semi-finals in their maiden season of reaching the group stage.
When the season started, Chiefs were given little chance of at least getting to the group phase of Africa’s top-tier club competition.But for now, Hunt and his charges are focusing on their domestic matches and they visit Bloemfontein Celtic for a Premier Soccer League assignment on Saturday.
Amakhosi would be trying to recover from the agony of losing at home to Chippa United on Wednesday, a defeat that came after a big victory over Mamelodi Sundowns three days earlier.
Chiefs midfielder Nkosingiphile Ngcobo has insisted on securing maximum points from the Free State.
“I missed the game against Sundowns and I think as a team we did very well. We played with confidence and we applied the plan correctly and managed to get three points. I came back against Chippa United and things did not go our way and we lost the game,” Ngcobo told the Chiefs website.
“We have to focus on our next game against Bloemfontein Celtic, it won’t be easy but we are prepared, and we have to go there and make sure that we get maximum points. ...as the league is towards the end now it has not been a great season for us as a team but there are a lot of positives we as a team can build on.
"This season has had many ups and downs, but we have done well in the Champions League. We broke some records in the competition and we just have to keep our heads up and finish the 2020-21 season in a better position.”
The Soweto giants are currently ninth on the PSL table.
