Chippa United will again put to the test their credentials as a potential top six side when they host a buoyant Free State Stars at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.
The club return to their regular home base after successful matches staged in East London that were played to a packed out stadium and produced back-to-back wins against Jomo Cosmos and Ajax Cape Town.
Last weekend’s victory at Bloemfontein Celtic saw the team elevated into the top six as their revival under coach Dan Malesela continues, but he admits that staying there will require a consistency that has not always been evident from the team.
“From where we are now we would certainly not want to drop out of the top half of the table but we know that to get there and stay there means you have to be winning regularly,” Malesela told supersport.com.
“We have been playing some very good football at times this season, but also we have the tendency at times to be too soft. That is what we need to eliminate from our game.
“We have grown since I arrived here [in December] but I believe there is still more in us too.”
Stars will provide an ample challenge for Chippa, even on their own patch, and Malesela will have had a chance to study their game in the 1-0 victory over Orlando Pirates on Wednesday night.
Malesela is likely to have experienced fullback Ruben Cloete available again after he missed the Celtic win through injury, while winger Philane Shange has resumed like training after a leg fracture but is still some way from full fitness.
Among the many challenges for Stars coach Giovanni Solinas comes the welcome problem of having to lift his players performance again following their victory over The Buccaneers.
That success, achieved via a goal from Ayanda Nkosi, was a first win in five for the side and the Italian will expect the same grit and determination shown against Chippa.
The victory moves Stars to seventh in the league, one place behind Chippa, and another win in this game by two goals or more will elevate the Free State side above their opponents and into the top six.
But Solinas must still work without five key players in Themba Shabalala, Davies Nkausu, Sthembiso Ngcobo, Andrea Fileccia and Moeketsi Sekola, and hope that the bumps, bruises and fatigue felt by the rest of the squad are not too bad.
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