Shabalala: We want to put Chiefs where it belongs

Kaizer Chiefs midfielder, Mduduzi Shabalala, says he wants to win the Nedbank Cup and help put Amakhosi where it belongs.

Chiefs take on Royal AM in the Nedbank Cup quarter-final at Chatsworth, kick off 18:00. “I’m feeling good and very excited about playing in the Nedbank Cup quarterfinal and we are preparing very well for the encounter on Sunday,” the player told Chiefs website.

“We will try to do our best. As you know, we didn’t do much in the last game we played against Marumo (Gallants) so we are going to push as much as possible to get to the next round.”

Shabalala was promoted to the Chiefs senior last year and has made 16 appearances and scoring two goals for Amakhosi this season so far.

The two sides have met four times with Royal AM winning three times and Chiefs once. Shabalala says he is aware of the daunting ahead.

“We have been looking at them. I watched their game against Marumo,” Shabalala reveals. “We saw their weaknesses and their strong points. We’ll try to take advantage their weakness because they are a good ball-playing team, just like us, so we’ll try to do our best to score as many goals as we can.”

Chiefs have not won a trophy since 2015 and the 19-year-old says he wants to help change that. “Obviously, we are the ones who can change this. We are the ones who are playing and we are trying our level best so that we can get to the final and win the Nedbank Cup and put the club back where it belongs. The commitment, the fight and the desire is there for us to go all the way.”

“We have eight games left, because we want to go to the final, we are conditioning ourselves very well. We are going to need a lot of rest in between the matches so that we can have more energy when we play, but I believe we can do it.”

Mduduzi Shabalala
Position:
Attacking midfielder
Nedbank Cup appearances/goals: 2/0
PSL Career appearances/goals: 16/2

KAIZER CHIEFS NEDBANK RECORD
Appearances since 2008:
16
Played: 41
Wins: 27
Draws: 4
Losses: 10
Goals For: 72
Goals Against: 33
Top scorer since 2008: Lehlohonolo Majoro (6)

2008: Round of 16
2009: Round of 16
2010: Round of 16
2011: Quarter-finalist
2012: Quarter-finalists
2013: Winners
2014: Semi-finalists
2015: Round of 16
2016: Round of 32
2017: Quarter-finalist
2018: Semi-finalists
2019: Runners Up
2020: Round of 16
2021: Round of 32
2022: Round of 32

Nedbank Cup Facts
Years Played:
16 (since 2008)
Most trophy wins: 4 – Mamelodi Sundowns (2008, 2015, 2020, 2022)
Most wins by a coach: 3 – Stuart Baxter (2013, 2016, 2017)
Most matches played: 54 – Mamelodi Sundowns
Most matches won: 41 – Mamelodi Sundowns
Most goals scored: 122 – Mamelodi Sundowns
Most goals scored: 14 – Peter Shalulile
By Zola Doda

error: Content is protected !!