Durban - Kaizer Chiefs defender Ramahlwe Mphahlele believes that it’s important for his side to learn from their 1-1 draw with AmaZulu as they prepare to take on Soweto rivals Maroka Swallows at the Dobsonville Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Despite being dominated, the Amakhosi managed to earn a draw against Usuthu at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on Wednesday. The performance from the Soweto giants was disjointed with even Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter admitting that his side was lucky to have escaped with a point.
“We started well against AmaZulu and wanted three points. They managed to get an equalizer and we were affected after going down to ten men. We responded well and will take a point against AmaZulu as they are not a bad team to draw against. AmaZulu are one of the best teams in the league so it’s an important point. It does feel like a loss because we conceded an easy goal that should have been avoided,” said the 31-year-old.
Chiefs’ game against Swallows may be somewhat of an emotional one for Mphahlele given that he spent the formative years of his career with the Dobsonville based club before switching to Mamelodi Sundowns in 2011.
The game against the Dube Birds presents Chiefs with a good opportunity to return to winning ways. Swallows have been a shadow of the team that surprised many in the league last season. They have won just one out of their 11 league fixtures to date and look like they could be set for a relegation dogfight.
While this may be the case, Mphahlele does not believe that his side can afford to take Swallows lightly.
“I’ve seen teams at the bottom of the league beat teams at the top. We must focus on ourselves and treat them with respect. They are a good team and hurt you on any day. When teams play against Chiefs, they also turn up and play well so we need to prepare well tactically,” said Mphahlele.
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