Cape Town — Having completed a nice little team bonding camp in Johannesburg this past weekend, Cape Town City coach Eric Tinkler is hoping his "shows up" on Tuesday against Maritzburg United.
The "team camp" was, of course, the trip to FNB Stadium where City were the only team to actually show up after Kaizer Chiefs were unable to field a fully-fit team after 31 personnel tested positive for Covid-19 at the club's training base.
Despite knowing beforehand that Chiefs were unable to fulfill the fixture, City still posted all their usual pre-match preparation on social media, including their player cards being checked on the bus by the match commissioner.
This caused quite an outcry on social media with many football fans, particularly those of the Amakhosi persuasion, accusing the Citizens of not being sympathetic to a grave medical situation at Naturena caused by the new Omicron variant.
However, the mind-games are over now though as City are back home preparing to host Maritzburg United. It is a crucial game for both teams, as they are deadlocked on 14 points. The visitors have played three more matches though.
"The games are coming think and fast now. This December period is very important to collect maximum points especially the home matches. I expect the players to take responsibility and produce a good performance, a winning performance because it's important that we collect maximum points from our home games," City coach Eric Tinkler said.
The Citizens mentor has intimate knowledge of Tuesday's opposition after spending a period of time at the helm of "The Team of Choice".
"Eric does know a few of the guys and I think he will be fully determined to get the victory for his side. The guys need to be ready and make sure we give 100 percent in the game against City," Maritzburg midfielder Travis Graham said.
"They will obviously be a bit fresher, but we have a game under our belts and even though we played a match we will be more comfortable. The coaches have made it very clear to us that going to Cape Town the minimum we need is a point to bring back home, but we will be going to get three points."
With both teams desperately seeking to move up the table, the action is expected to be a heated affair in the middle of the park and Tinkler is hoping his charges put the right foot forward.
"There are no guarantees and no easy games in this league. I don't think anyone would've thought Sekhukhune would be second place in the league, themselves included!
"So you have to work extremely hard for points. Its about having the right mindset. You can't put in high quality performances against Mamelodi Sundowns and then drop your level against the others. We have to show up. That's the most important factor," Tinkler said.
IOL Sport