The ice that Chippa United coach Lehlohonolo Seema is skating on is
becoming thinner by each match as the Chilli Boys are desperate for
points in their quest to move away from the bottom half of the DStv
Premiership table
Seema is under pressure to deliver as the Chilli Boys seek maximum
points in their game against Orlando Pirates at the Orlando Stadium in
Soweto on Wednesday (19h30).
‘‘We have been preparing well after disappointing results in Polokwane
on our last game. You could see that it was not a good feeling. The guys are quite aware that we gave away two soft goals. It’s water under the bridge now,’’ Seema said referring to the Chilli Boys’ recent 2-1 loss to Baroka FC.
The former Pirates and Bloemfontein Celtic captain has insisted that
they are not even thinking about what the Buccaneers might have gotten
up to over the weekend following their MTN8 triumph when they beat
Siwelele 2-1 in the final played at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
‘‘It will be suicidal to say they are still hung over following their
cup win. You know the quality Pirates have got. On Wednesday you don’t
know who they will have on the field. We expect a very difficult game.
We are fully aware of the danger Pirates can pose on the day,’’ he said.
The Chilli Boys are 13th on the DStv Premiership standings with five
points from six matches and only a win might guarantee Seema a
continued stay at the club. The Chilli Boys have won once, drawn twice
and lost three matches.
‘‘In my view we did fairly well in the three matches that we dropped
points. There is a lot positives that we have to pick from the games
we have played considering that this is a new team,’’ he said.
‘We didn’t have the preseason as we would have love to. We are conceding in each an every game. We had one of the porous defence last season, something that we are working on. Conceding such goals is painful. We did well during the Baroka game, but lost. The most worrying factor now is to try and not conceded softly.’’
Seema is, however, pleased with how his strikers have done so far as
Bienvenu Eva Nga has scored three goals while his striking partner Augustine Kwem has netted twice this season.
‘‘The goals are not only coming from the strikers. We defend and attack as a team. So far so good, both have scored this season. We can see that they are capable of scoring,’’ he said.
The Chilli Boys have signed Ugandan goalkeeper Isima Watenga from
Sofapaka FC in Kenya to fill the gap created by the departure of former captain Veli Mothwa, who was sold to AmaZulu.
The 25-year-old Ugandan, who has signed a 19 months contract with the Chilli Boys, is available to play for the Eastern Cape side.
‘‘Look, we all know that our captain has gone to AmaZulu, we looked at
that department and beefed it up. Isima is an international from Uganda and plays when (Denis) Onyango is not available. I’m happy with having Isima,’’ said Seema.
Meanwhile, the former Lesotho international has said that his Chilli
Boys bosses are behind him.
‘’The thing is that I didn’t come and did my things in isolation. I set down with the management and they bought into my vision. I’m quite confident that they can see where the team is going. The support has been very good and I’m happy with the chairman,’’ Seema said.
