Cape Town - Cape Town City coach, Eric Tinkler, has appealed to his players to show a will to win ahead of Wednesday's DStv Premiership away clash against SuperSport United at the Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium on Wednesday.
Tinkler was thrilled by his players' determination to press for victory after the side was a goal down and forced to play with 10 men for the entire second half against Swallows on Saturday. They emerged 2-1 winners after tactical changes worked to City's advantage in the second half.
“They showed the will to win, but I would like to see them do it in every game,” said Tinkle
“The team, although a man down, were forced to adapt and those tactical changes worked well for us in the second half.
"The spaces in between our lines were no longer there. We were nice and compact. We were well structured, and we looked to catch them on the break. We caught them more than once - we caught them four times in all.
“I think Mpho Makola (he scored the winner) could have scored a hattrick, and Fagrie (Lakay) could have scored at least two. I thought we deserve what we got in the second half, and I think we deserved to come away as winners.
“I’m proud of the team, how they responded in the second half, but what it tells me is that what I spoke about before; intensity, grit, the will to win, is there. You can’t switch it on and off like a light. You must bring it (the intensity) in every single game.
“There are no easy games in this league. All the games are tough. They fight for their lives. They come here and they’re going to play at a high intensity. They are going to play with aggression.
“We’ve got to match them and even be better than them, especially at home. We didn’t do that in the first half, but we showed it in the second half. It is a positive I can take into our next game against SuperSport."
Andre Arendse, SuperSport's stand-in coach for Kaitano Tembo who has been laid low by the pandemic, said the squad will again be thin and will again rely on reserve strength to field the matchday squad. Several regulars are among the walking wounded.
Over the weekend, SuperSport produced a gutsy performance in a goalless draw against Sekhukhune United. Arendse said his players showed great character despite their depleted ranks.
"The guys showed heart out there and lots of character," said Arendse. "Big hearts out there and you could see the way they battled physically.
"Under the circumstances, we were always going to need to show great heart. I have got to give credit to our back-four again for standing solid.
Arendse added that the current situation the club finds itself in is an opportunity for the young players to grab their chance.
"What this pandemic is doing is presenting opportunities. "They must look at it as grabbing these opportunities and I can't fault them. We are playing with a few youngsters.
"Keagan Johannes has slotted in well and we forget that he's still a youngster. It is turning out to be a fight for positions.
"We want to create as much as possible with that fight for positions."
Meanwhile, City's neighbours Stellenbosch will be in action at the Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit, where they will be hosted by TS Galaxy.
Sead Ramovic, Galaxy's German coach, was impressed with his team after they held Golden Arrows to a 1-all draw in their away fixture over the weekend.
"On Saturday we showed that we have a great squad and that everybody can play," said Ramovic.
“Now we just must be prepared, well-prepared, and we will do better for the next game at home (against Stellenbosch).
"We have to be at our best because we will have to play against a really tough opponent.