Cape Town City 'will definitely make changes' for Acornbush

CAPE TOWN - Football coaching is a lot more than just the technical and tactical drills that happen on the training pitch each day. Getting the squad mentally prepared and motivated for an occasion are probably of far greater importance.

Cape Town City coach Eric Tinkler is keenly aware of this, which is why he is not treating Sunday’s Nedbank Cup last 32 tie against Mpumalanga-based Second Division minnows Acornbush United lightly (3pm kickoff). The fixture is scheduled for the Kabokweni Stadium, a venue situated around 30km north east of Nelspruit.

Considering the heights the new Mother City PSL club has already scaled this season - winning the Telkom Knockout, consistently highly-placed on the league standings and the infectious nature of the football they’ve played - Tinkler admits he is concerned about complacency.

City, as a club, and the players, have hogged the spotlight all season, and the coach has impressed on his squad the need to stay humble. Hence, this week, it has not so much been about training, it has been more about getting into the minds of the players.

“Yes, it will be difficult to get the guys motivated again, coming from what we have achieved so far,” said Tinkler. “We had to keep the guys grounded this week, especially after all the attention we’ve been getting from all the press.

“But I believe we have done that in training... We have learnt from what happened after the Telkom final (City had a bit of slump after winning the competition), so we will be better prepared for it this time around.”

As for the opposition, Acornbush, Tinkler said he wouldn’t be going into the game blind. He had, in fact, come up against the lower-tier side before, during his spell as head coach of Orlando Pirates.

“When I was at Pirates, we had a training camp in Nelsruit, and we played a friendly against Acornbush,” said the City coach. “In addition to that, I know quite a lot of coaches out there who are able to give me some detail on their progress this season.”

But, irrespective of what information he is able to glean from his sources in Mpumalanga, Tinkler knows that City will still have to come to the party on the day. They will be up against highly-motivated opponents, who are desperate to make a statement against one of the best teams in the PSL.

“It’s always difficult playing against such opposition,” he said. “The first 15 to 20 minutes is going to be important for us. That is what will set the tone for the match If we allow them anything early on, then of course the match will become increasingly difficult for us.”

City’s success has been built on consistency in team selection - from goalkeeper Shu-Aib Walters, centre-back Tshepo Gumede, central midfielder Roland Putsche, and the deadly attacking duo of Lebogang Manyama and Aubrey Ngoma.

But, because of this, quite a few of the players have been playing week in and week out, without rest. For Tinkler, this is the ideal opportunity to allow them to pull up a deckchair and recharge the batteries.

“We will definitely make changes, but it’s not out of disrespect to our opposition,” he said. “There are some players who haven’t got a lot of game time, so we have to bring them in. We believe the players in our squad are all capable of being in the starting team, so they will be given the opportunity.”

Tinkler’s thoughts suggest that players like Vincent Kobola, Joseph Adjei, Ebrahim Seedat, Bhongolethu Jayiya, Given Mashikinya, Letsie Koapeng and even 17-year-old Duncan Adonis could all come into contention for selection on Sunday.

Nedbank Cup last 32 fixtures

Saturday:

Jomo Cosmos v United Rovers; FC Cape Town v Baroka FC (NNK Rugby Stadium, 3pm); Kwadukuza United v Ajax Cape Town (Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium, 3pm); Buya Musthu v Bloemfontein Celtic; Free State Stars v Highlands Park; Stellenbosch FC v Kaizer Chiefs (Athlone Stadium, 8.15pm)