Amakhosi promise to ‘die on the pitch’ for CAF comeback

Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Sibongiseni “Ox” Mthethwa has vowed the team will die on the pitch if that’s what it takes to win the CAF Confederation Cup second preliminary round second leg against Zambia’s Red Arrows.

Chiefs, who are winless in their last four games with one defeat and three draws in all competitions, host Red Arrows at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday (6pm). Amakhosi lost the away leg 1-0 in Ndola last Saturday, so they must overturn the deficit to qualify for the tournament’s group stages.

“We’ve seen how they play, so now the challenge is to outrun them,” Mthethwa said. “We must also win every ball and make sure we don’t concede. We will die on that pitch if that is what we should do to win.

“We went to Zambia to win, but sometimes things don’t pan out the way we want. However, now we have a second chance to change our fate. It’s all in our hands, and it’s up to us to decide our fate.”

Mthethwa has called for togetherness, stressing the importance of reaching the group stages as Chiefs aim to win the Confederation Cup this season.

“We need to stand together as a team, and our fans must also rally behind us. We know the importance of winning this second leg because all we want is to make it to the group stages,” he said.

“Our main aim is to eventually win this Confederation Cup, so we need to pull up our socks and make sure we win the second leg. We know that good things don’t come easy, so we must sweat for this, and we are willing to do everything we can to win.”

After facing Arrows, Amakhosi will then shift focus to the Carling Knockout, hosting TS Galaxy in the tournament’s first round at FNB Stadium next Tuesday, with the Soweto derby against their biggest rivals, Orlando Pirates, also coming up at the same venue, days later.