CAPE TOWN – Roland Putsche is back to full fitness and set to make an impact for Cape Town City when they take on Maritzburg United in a PSL match at Cape Town Stadium tonight (8pm)
The influential midfielder came on as a late substitute in the away defeat to AmaZulu earlier this month.
It was the Austrian’s first bit of action since sustaining a serious knee injury in February that threatened to end his stay with the club after having just signed a contract extension.
He was set to play against Kaizer Chiefs last weekend in the opening round of the Telkom Knockout (TK) that saw the Citizens lose at home on penalties after the game at Cape Town Stadium ended 1-1 after extra time.
“It felt amazing to get some minutes against AmaZulu even though the result wasn’t good,” said Putsche. “I felt like I made a positive impact. The niggle after that killed my momentum a lot but I’ve worked hard again to be back and ready for selection. I feel I’m a lot stronger than I was before I got injured, that is thanks to working on my physique. Now all I want to do is play again.”
City coach Benni McCarthy is chuffed to have one of his reliable playmakers back in the saddle.
“Roland brings that leadership above anything else,” said McCarthy. “He is a calm head on the field to help manage the game and has the quality and intelligence to run the show in midfield.
“I’m delighted to have him back, it give us a chance to change the dynamic of our midfield.”
FRIDAY MATCHDAY 🥳
We prepare for battle as we take on Maritzburg United tonight at 20:00 👊💙
See you there as we also celebrate 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ appearances of Thami Mkhize 🏆 #Mkhize100 #iamCityFC pic.twitter.com/JpeTlGWEZD
— Cape Town City FC (@CapeTownCityFC) October 25, 2019
United, who are one slot below City on the log in 11th, will arrive in the Mother City bullish about their chances after a recent run of good form. The KwaZulu-Natal club has rebounded from a sluggish start to their campaign with back-to-back wins, and last weekend edged Wits on penalties to advance to the quarter-finals of the TK.
But McCarthy isn’t too fazed.
“It’s a different ball game when they come to Cape Town. Last season was a feisty encounter and I’m sure this time won’t be any different,” he said. “The response from the players has been good after the performance against Chiefs. They took so much heart, so many positives from the match and really gave it a good show at training this week.
I feel like my players have put in a big effort in matches but they’ve been let down by small things, so I would say it’s time we have a performance where they stay focussed for 90 minutes and not let any of that creep in.
“We know that we’re able to control the game, we need to be patient, it’s going to be all about choosing our moments to break them down.”