Chippa must maintain momentum

CHIPPA United coach Dan “Dance” Malesela hopes his team’s Premier Soccer League 4-1 triumph against Platinum Stars on Wednesday is the start of a winning run heading into the close of the season.

Chippa play second-placed Bidvest Wits away tomorrow and a victory there will go a long way in maintaining that momentum.

A second-half hat-trick by Lerato Manzini and a first-half goal from Andile Mbenyene saw Chippa end their dry spell of five games without a win.

But, more importantly, the victory has helped the team retain their spot in the top eight. The Chilli Boys are now seventh on the log with 37 points from 26 matches.

Malesela said the win would be a huge confidence boost for his players.

With only four games left before the league comes to an end, Chippa know they need to keep winning to finish in the top eight.

“It will boost their moral going into the next game against Bidvest Wits, which obviously will be tough.

“But I think we are capable of handling ourselves,” he said.

The coach said although he was happy with his players’ performance, there were still areas he was not too pleased with.

“Everything from the beginning went well for us. This is good, we scored first. I mean four goals. . . this is what I have been wanting for a long time.

“There could have been more [goals] had we taken the chances. But it’s good, it’s the beginning,” Malesela said.

“We spoke in the first half about cooling down a little bit and coming to our senses – to really make the right decisions when we were in the final third. And I think we did.

“The selection of passes was better in the second half when we had them on the back foot.”

Platinum Stars coach Cavin Johnson said he did not believe his team played badly, but that they were unlucky on the day.

“It’s one of those games. Not necessarily a bad day at the office,” Johnson said.

“It’s not easy when you are playing against a team like Chippa. They are on a high and they have a good coach.”