By Benjamin Nyirenda
The stage is set for Friday’s opening match of the 2021/2022 DSTV Premiership season and it is AmaZulu FC, who finished second in the league last season who will start the new campaign with a game against the 2020/21 Champions Mamelodi Sundowns. The match will be played at Loftus in Tshwane.
The game comes after Usuthu lost their MTN8 quarterfinal game to Cape Town City FC and therefore being knocked out of the tournament. Coach Benni McCarthy has benchmarked this match as their “bounce back”.
Speaking at the launch of the current season in Johannesburg on Wednesday, McCarthy said that his side was ready for the clash.
” It won’t be easy playing against the number one team but that’s what football is, we have to be ready to face every team. We finished second and they are the Champions so it’s an exciting game for both teams,” he said.
” The preseason training and preparations went very well as the injured players and those who were isolated were integrated very well into the team. We have been preparing well as a team and we are ready for the new season starting with the game on Friday, ” McCarthy added.
The former Orlando Pirates player added that while Sundowns had retained their championship winning players and also added new talent, this was no concern for Usuthu. ” Despite this we want to bounce back and make ourselves happy against Sundowns. We want a positive result on Friday, ” he concluded.