CAPE TOWN – Benni McCarthy's City will be looking to complete a season double over SuperSport United at the Lucas Moripe Stadium tomorrow (8.15pm kickoff).
City won the corresponding Premier League fixture 2-0 at the Cape Town Stadium in August for the perfect start to their campaign.
The Citizens find themselves in ninth place in the standings on 20 points, while Matsatsantsa are third on 23 points.
Wits lead the pack on 30 points and enjoy a three-point lead over Orlando Pirates.
“It’s a big game for us up in Pretoria,” said City owner John Comitis. “We win and we pocket R1.5m from the league for being the leading team for the second quarter of the season (comprises eight games).
“The players will share in half of that provided they deliver a winning performance. And I can tell you they are raring to go.”
City’s new signing Kermit Erasmus will be in the match day squad, says Comitis.
“Coach Benni (McCarthy) is still to decide whether he starts or not. What I can say is Kermit joining us has elevated the quality of our squad. He’s a striker with proven credentials. It’s no secret that we’ve struggled in front of goals this season, so to have him in our corner can only do us the world of good,” he said.
Kermit Erasmus will be in the match day squad for the Citizens’ trip to Supersport United tomorrow night. Photo: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix
City would be in the hunting pack if they come away with three points. That’s where they want to be.
They bag maximum points and they move up four places to fourth on the league standings. It would mark the halfway stage of their season.
To be within striking distance of the pacesetters with 15 games left to play could well set up a shot at the title.
City ended 2018 on a high when they overturned a 2-0 first-half deficit into a 3-2 victory over higher-placed Bloemfontein Celtic at the Cape Town Stadium.
McCarthy laid into his charges at the break and they responded with a 45-minute display that he described as the best football delivered from them this season.
There’s no doubting the commitment levels of the players, but they do need to be on the ball for the full 90 minutes to fulfil their potential.
Not helping matters has been a shaky defence that has leaked 19 goals.
McCarthy and his assistants have been working hard with the backs, now the wait to see if it pays dividends.
The Citizens have played 14 games in the league thus far - they have a game in hand over the majority of their opponents - to sit ninth in the standing with 20 points. After facing SuperSport, they will host Baroka and Free State Stars this month in league fixtures.
Mike de Bruyn
Cape Times