Mbunjana unfazed by ‘fresher’ Swallows
Galaxy skipper decries 'fifth game in 10 days'
Image: Gallo Images/Philip Maeta
TS Galaxy’s league game against Swallows at Dobsonville Stadium tonight will be their fifth game in 10 days, while the Dube Birds last played 15 days ago.
This is why Galaxy skipper Mlungisi Mbunjana concedes Swallows will be fresher on Wednesday (7.30pm). However, the Rockets skipper has warned the Birds that it won’t be a walk in the park even when they are fatigued. Swallows’ last game was a 2-1 defeat at Richards Bay on October 22.
“Swallows are well-rested because they haven’t played in a while whereas we’ve played three games in four days. They might be fresher than us but that doesn’t mean we will be pushovers,” Mbunjana told Sowetan yesterday.
Galaxy head into this league match, having played 120 minutes in their previous game, a Carling Knockout quarterfinal against Sekhukhune United at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday. The Rockets won on penalties to book an away semifinal date with AmaZulu.
Mbunjana has revealed they didn’t really get enough time to prepare for Swallows after returning from Polokwane on Sunday. The Galaxy skipper reckons mental strength will be key to help them through this period of a congested programme.
“We haven’t done much preparation... it has just been to see how they [Swallows] play. We only returned to Joburg on Sunday, so there hasn’t been enough time to really train or do more things... it’s been recovery and watching their footage,” Mbunjana stated.
“The most important thing for us now is to be mentally ready because we’ve been playing so many games in a short space of time. We played 120 minutes on Saturday, so you can imagine fatigue but that’s nothing when you have right attitude and you are mentally ready.”
Galaxy are yet to win a league game on the road this term with three defeats and a draw. Mbunjana views the Swallows tie as a perfect chance to mend their away league form as they aspire to remain in the top eight until the end of the season.
“This game is also an opportunity for us to fix our away form. We must start collecting points even on the road, especially if we are to cement our place in the top eight,” Mbunjana said.