Chiefs will do everything they can to tame upstarts Galaxy‚ says Katsande

Willard Katsande provides the fire in Kaizer Chiefs’ engine room and the combative midfielder is intent on fighting talk to stoke Amakhosi’s competitive flames ahead of Saturday’s Nedbank Cup final against TS Galaxy.

The tough-tackling Zimbawean who never holds back on a full throttle performance, is revved up as Chiefs go in search of a trophy to avoid a unprecedented fourth season without one.

Katsande pointed out that young National First Division (NFD) campaigners Galaxy, former agent Tim Sukazi’s 10-month-old team from Mpumalanga, will be a ball of excitement in the final. He said Chiefs will need to keep cool heads and have a single objective — to do the business — at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday (kickoff 7pm).

“We need to remove the darkness of the trophy drought by winning‚” he said. “We know it’s going to be difficult. We are not underestimating them.

“We want to finish the game in 90 minutes. Galaxy are a good team. They play good football. But they can have the possession‚ we can have the result. That’s what we want. Our eyes are on the prize‚ and we know how it is to be in a cup final.

“Galaxy are going to be excited to be in a cup final. So they’re going to try to make all the millions in SA happy by knocking the ball around. For us‚ we are going to go for business‚ the result‚ which is the only important thing.”

Galaxy‚ who ended their first season of existence in a creditable eighth place in the NFD‚ would make history as the first team from the second-tier to lift the Nedbank Cup should they pull off a stunning upset in the sold-out final.

Chiefs have not won a trophy since their league and cup double in 2014-15 under Stuart Baxter. They have been in form in the Nedbank Cup‚ dispatching  Cape Town City 2-0 in the quarterfinals and Chippa United 4-2 in the semis with inspired performances.

However, Amakhosi go into the final after four matches without a win since beating Chippa in the cup. Seven defeats overall in the league saw them finish a disappointing ninth in the Premiership this past weekend.