Ahead of their African Champions League first round tie against Primiero de Agosto, Kaizer Chiefs defender Ramahlwe Mphahlele says the team is ready.
The experienced right-back has emphasized the importance of the clash, saying they will have to win the match for them to secure their first ever appearance in the Champions League group stage.
Under the guidance of coach Gavin Hunt, Chiefs have been experiencing a troubled season domestically, and now they face what could be a tougher task in the road to knockout stages of the African competition.
Chiefs will host the Angolan giants at FNB Stadium on Wednesday before travelling to Luanda on January 6 for the return leg that will decide their fate in the competition.
“We’re preparing well, we know they are a good team. We are aware of the danger that they could cause, so we’re preparing our team,” ‘Rama’ told the club’s media team.
“We’re obviously playing at home, and we want to get good results, so when we go to Angola, we have a chance of going to the group stages.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”I think it’s important we take this game very seriously, because we are only two games away from the group stages, and from there you play the big boys and chances of going to the quarter-finals are very high.[/perfectpullquote]
“So, we’re taking it very seriously, and we want to give it everything we have. Since locally we’re struggling a little bit, we want to do well in this competition.”
Kaizer Chiefs qualified to the first round of the African Champions League after beating PWD Bamenda of Cameroon 1-0 on aggregate in the preliminary round.
The South African giants are going into this match against Agosto on the backdrop of a six-match winless run in the Premier Soccer League.