Ahead of Saturday’s clash, head coach Enos Chatama opened up on the challenge of facing Silver Strikers and what his team needs to improve when going up against the league’s top sides.
Here’s everything the manager had to say ahead of the match:
Stepping up for Saturday
As a team, we are well-prepared to face Silver Strikers on their home ground.
Facing the reigning champions
It's a completely different game. We played Moyale at home, but this time we travel to the capital to face Silver Strikers. It’s quite a tricky match, considering they are the defending champions of the TNM Super League. They are a big team that has been in the Super League for a long time, winning numerous trophies. We are just a newly promoted side. It will not be an easy game, especially facing Silver Strikers at a time when they are coming from a loss in the Airtel Top 8 Cup Final.
Facing the top three: Bullets, Nomads, and now Silver Strikers
I think we are learning our lessons, little by little. We have already played two giants, and now we face the defending champions ,a team with many quality players. They play good football, but recently they haven’t been performing very well. They will improve, and at some point, they will start winning again. It will not be easy facing them on their home ground, but the team that prepares well will carry the day.
Early team news
Two or three players are out, but we will still maintain most of the players who played last week. Some suspended players will also be coming back, which is a bonus for us. Overall, the boys are ready to take on Silver Strikers.
Injury updates
Emmanuel Saviel returned to training last week, but he is not fully fit to take to the turf. Wongani Kaponya has been sidelined and has not trained; we might miss him for the rest of the first round. Nevertheless, we have players who are ready to step in and face Silver Strikers. We do not want to rush injured players, they need full recovery and proper rehabilitation.
It will be a long season. We have two games left before we wrap up the first round, plus the upcoming FDH Bank Cup and Castel Cup. We can say it will be a long campaign, but we cannot rush players just because of the magnitude of this match. Forcing them back too soon may risk ending their careers early.
Word to fans
We encourage fans to come and watch the game. We are playing a big team in the name of Silver Strikers, and we respect them as champions.
The fans should come and watch us go toe-to-toe with them. It will be an exciting match, and they will get to see the depth of our team and whether we are growing. I believe we are taking the right steps in the right direction. It will be a good game, and we want the fans to come in large numbers.
