Durban – Cape Town City assistant coach Diego Peral is aware that his side will face a difficult battle against Mamelodi Sundowns in the MTN8 final at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday.
Sundowns enter the game as the firm favourites against City. However, Peral does feel that his side can give Masandawana a strong run for their money.
“We know that we will need to be on top of our game. Sundowns are good offensively and defensively. They have got goals and individuals that can do damage. The 20-man squad which we will choose for the final is capable of going toe to toe with Sundowns,” said Peral while speaking to the media at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
One factor that City can take confidence from is the fact that they have already won at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in the Wafa Wafa competition this season as they inflicted a 2-1 defeat upon AmaZulu in their quarter-final clash.
City will certainly have to make sure that their defense is on point against Sundowns. Defence was their weak point in the Premiership last season. While they have recorded four clean sheets in the league this season, they conceded three in their last outing against Golden Arrows as signs of defensive fragility from last season resurfaced.
“We have to defend better if we want to move up the table so we worked very hard on that. We’ve had four clean sheets while it was difficult to get clean sheets last season. We panicked a bit against Arrows in the last stanza which may have been a blessing in disguise,” said Peral.
Peral confirmed that Thamsanqa Mkhize, Terrence Mashego and Abbubaker Mobara are carrying injuries while also expressing his hope that all key players will be fit and ready for the final.
Peral believes that the final which will be played in front of 2000 fans in Durban will be good for the viewers.
“We prefer to play against teams like Sundowns that come out and play football and which attack. If you look at our record, we do tend to struggle against the smaller teams that sit back. We are an attacking team. It will be good for the spectators,” said Peral.
IOL Sport