Johannesburg - Ronwen Williams says his side cannot afford to take Highlands Park lightly if they are to win their Absa Premiership match at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Sunday (kick-off 3.30pm).
The SuperSport United shot-stopper, who has only conceded two goals in five league games this season, also stated that while his side has been solid in defence, they also need to step it up a notch in the attacking third.
Matsatsantsa a Pitori have scored just twice in their previous league matches.
“It is going to be a tough game,” Williams said. “Highlands have quality players in their squad. They’ve got the likes of Collins Mbesuma, Franklin Cale and Tapuwa Kapini who’ve been there and have won things before. It’s definitely not going to be an easy one.
“One of my previous coaches told me that if you can concede less than 20 goals in a season, then you stand a good chance of winning the league. I want to continue with my performances from the previous games. You know what they say: Strikers win matches but it’s goalkeepers and the defenders who will win you the championship’. It’s very important that we continue fighting to produce more clean sheets, while pushing for goals as well.”
Williams added that his defensive line would need to keep a tight leash on last season’s top goalscorer, Mbesuma.
Asked if the arrival of Reyaad Pieterse at the club has been the impetus behind his fine performances this season, Williams said: “People say I didn’t have competition (before Pieterse arrived). But Vincent Pule has always been there. We all saw what he did in the (Nedbank Cup) final. The (technical) team didn’t want to throw him in the deep end last season because the team wasn’t doing well.
“But yes, the competition has been good (for the team),” Williams admitted. “We’ve got young Mondli Mpoto as well, who is working really hard in training with our new goalkeeper coach Andre (Arendse). And that’s a good thing. It bodes well for the team.”
Meanwhile, coach Stuart Baxter confirmed that veteran defender Tefu Mashamaite will only return to full training in 14 days time after having gone through knee surgery to remove a small piece of bone that was floating around.
Other players who are still recovering from niggling injuries at SuperSport include: Keagan Richie, Dove Wome, Cole Alexander, Onismor Bhasera, Mpho Mbebe; Fagrie Lakay, Brian Kekana and Mario Booysen.
“We’ve got an injury list that is as long as your arm,” Baxter said “Masha just had his operation. Grant Kekana just had his operation. Keagan Ritchie is back in training but we decided to slow down his rehabilitation because he was rushing it. We didn’t want to risk it. Clayton Daniels is back but we’ll have to wait and see whether he is selectable for this one or not. Our international players (Dean Furman, Aubrey Modiba and Michael Boxall) will not be training with us. We’ve decided to rest them.”
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The Star