DURBAN - Playing Mamelodi Sundowns in the cup and facing them in the league are different propositions.
Although Golden Arrows beat the Brazilians in the Nedbank Cup recently, the most they will draw from that is confidence as they prepare to host Sundowns in a league game on Friday in KwaMashu.
This will be an altogether different challenge, said Arrows coach Clinton Larsen, who is preparing his charges for a tougher battle.
“The players will draw inspiration from that cup victory. When we met Sundowns they were in a bit of a slump to be honest. They will be a different proposition this time around,” said Larsen.
While his team was getting pummelled 3-1 at Polokwane City midweek, Sundowns cruised to a 2-0 win over Ajax Cape Town that took them to second place in the league standings.
Even with the tight travel schedule from the Limpopo province, by Tuesday morning Larsen managed to view footage of Sundowns’ game and shared his thoughts on the way forward.
“Against Ajax they put in a very good second half performance. Once again the usual suspects were playing well – Khama Billiat, Themba Zwane, Hlompho Kekana, (Percy) Tau. These are players who can decide games on their own, so we have to make sure that we take care of that group of players. They are on form currently and are contributing immensely to the success of the club,” said Larsen.
However he saw some aspects where Ajax managed to trouble Sundowns and will attempt to build on those.