JOHANNESBURG – Kaizer Chiefs defender Reeve Frosler is confident that they can beat Wydad Casablanca in the penultimate game of the Caf Champions League’s group stage as long as they convert their chances.
Chiefs have had a difficult time in the Pan-African competition. They are third on the standings in Group C with five points, level with second placed Horoya Athletic Club and five behind leaders and two-time African champions, Wydad.
Chiefs’ continental campaign has seen them manage one win against the bottom-placed Petro de Luanda, two draws against Horoya and one defeat against Wydad. That 4-0 defeat at the expense of the Moroccan giants was a footballing lesson.
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They’ll, however, host The Reds at the FNB Stadium on Saturday evening hoping to avenge that loss and keep their chances of qualifying for the quarterfinals alive. But Chiefs will have to ensure that they are clinical in front of goal from the outset.
“For me, like I’ve said with other competitions, it’s one game at a time,” Frosler said. “But if you look at the first game against Wydad, we did get chances to score. So, if we get the chances in the first 10-15 minutes and capitalise on them, you never know what can happen.”
He added: “They are a very good and structured team. They are difficult to play against. But we’ve got to stick by our strengths, stay composed and you’ll never know what can happen. We need to stay composed and let the game go on for as long as possible.”
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A win for Chiefs against Wydad won’t mean they are home and dry. Horoya are unlikely to lose against Luanda. And that’s why Chiefs have to also get a result against the Angolans in the last game, while hoping that Wydad does them a favour against Horoya.
Chiefs safest option, though, is to beat both Wydad and Luanda in order to book their spot in the quarterfinals of the competitions for the very first time and follow in the footsteps of local champions Mamelodi Sundowns who qualified with two games to spare.
“First priority is to try and win this game (against Wydad). But we’ll do our best,” Frosler said. “We still have two games left. In the last time, we played a team that’s second on the log. So, who knows? We do well on this game and that side then we’ve qualified.”
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Chiefs’ only realistic chance of claiming silverware lies in the continental showpiece. Domestically, they’ve already missed out on the MTN8 and Nedbank Cup, while they are embarrassingly ninth in the league, 17 points behind leaders Sundowns.
Before the Fifa break, Amakhosi gained an invaluable morale booster, defeating rivals Orlando Pirates at home. Frosler walked away with the man of the match award, ahead of assembling for camp with the Under-23 national team squad that’s preparing for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
“Obviously (during the Fifa break) I got invited to the Under-23 national team camp. It was nice working there. And with the Olympic Games coming up at the end of the season, hopefully I’ll get a chance to be part of that team and go to the Olympics,” he said.
IOL Sport