Derby bragging rights will be at stake when Amazulu welcome Lamontville Golden Arrows in their Betway Premiership clash at the iconic Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday (3.30pm kick-off).
Usuthu has played second fiddle to their neighbours, and their current league standing may give some indication of how clashes between the two sides have panned out in recent times.
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— AmaZulu FC (@AmaZuluFootball) January 3, 2025
AmaZulu have only gotten the better of Arrows once in their last five encounters, with the visitors in Saturday’s clash winning four of the other league fixtures.
Two points currently separate the two sides, but as with any derby match, form and previous results most often goes out the window once the battle lines are drawn.
Fresh off holding off high-flyers Polokwane City to their first goalless draw of the season, Abafana Bes’thende will be looking to continue their positive start to their season.
The former MTN8 champions have been in and amongst the top eight positions despite their off-field issues that have seen head coach Mabhuti Khenyeza absent from his day-to-day duties to subsequently reappear as an assistant coach at Chippa United a few weeks later.
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Musa Bilankulu and Kagisho Dikgacoi will once again be in the technical area following Khenyeza’s exit, and they will take a lot of confidence heading into the encounter following some recent positive results that have seen them pick up seven points from their last three encounters.
Usuthu, on the other hand, could do with a bit of consistency, and defender Wayde Jooste, who has been a key member of the team, believes that it will be crucial for his side to carry on from some of the positive results they have had so far this season.
“It’s going to be a tough game; it’s a derby,” Wayde Jooste said ahead of the crunch clash.
“We always want to win derbies, but we will also want to carry on the momentum that we have had in the last few games.
“We want to go out to win again. We always go out to win every game, but we want this more because it comes with bragging rights.”
When asked about their upcoming challenge and their recent result against Rise and Shine, Jooste said that he didn’t read too much into their opponents’ results, but they will go into the clash prepared and clear on what the task at hand will be.
“We have prepared for this game like we do with every other game; we did our analysis with the coaches, and we obviously don’t take any game lightly.
“We know what their strong points are and what their weak points are, and we know what we have to do tomorrow to get the three points.”