AmaZulu coach Romain Folz has made a bold declaration ahead of the second leg of the MTN8 semi-final against Kaizer Chiefs at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday (15:30), assuring that his side will reach the final.
Folz, who is still searching for his first win in the PSL in seven matches now (five with Marumo Gallants and two with AmaZulu), says his side will beat Chiefs in Durban.
The game is evenly poised after the first leg ended 1-1 at FNB Stadium earlier this month. In that game coach Brandon Truter was in charge before he was sacked a match later after losing to surprise packages Richards Bay FC.
Folz’s first game in charge of Usuthu was against Orlando Pirates which ended 1-1 at Orlando Stadium last Friday, before drawing 1-1 yet again against Maritzburg United at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Wednesday night.
Despite Folz’s statistics of no win in the PSL, he said the first win under his belt will be against the Soweto giants on Sunday, dismissing talks that voodoo is following him as he hasn’t won.
“Yes, it is seven games but I have lost [just] one,” said Folz.
“I haven’t won yet and the rest have been draws. You can always argue that. If you remember back at Gallants, we conceded against Royal AM in the last minute and here we got the red card (to Tercious Malepe on Wednesday).
“The previous game against Pirates, a lot of things happened there, so it has been eventful. But I’m someone who believes that, if you keep working, if you put your mind on what you are doing, at some point it will turn in your way…
“One thing for sure we are going to enter the game against Chiefs, and we will give our best. We will give them a tough time and we will do what we need to do to win, and we will win that game and go to the final.”
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In fact, Folz felt he could have gotten his first win against struggling Maritzburg at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.
George Maluleka struck the upright in the first half and Ramahlwe Mphahlele had the shot come off the crossbar in the last minute, much to the dismay of Folz and his technical team and players who heldi their heads in aghast.
Usuthu are without a win in seven matches in all competitions, with the club’s last league win coming against Swallows in August.
“I think we deserve to win this game,” said Folz. “Tonight it didn’t go for us. Maybe next time it will go for us.”
