Mamelodi Sundowns defender Rushine de Reuck is targeting a strong start to the 2022/23 season as they face Cape Town City at the DHL Stadium on Friday evening.
The Cape Town-born talent is likely to line up in defence against the Citizens who finished runners-up in the league behind Masandawana – who scooped a domestic treble.
Having drawn two games and the other taken to penalties in the MTN8 final, the African Soccer Development (ASD) Academy product is aware of the threat Eric Tinkler’s side poses.
“Preparations are going really well, the guys have been working hard and we know that going to Cape Town isn’t going to be easy,” he told the club’s website.
“City has been a very difficult team for us to beat, even last season we didn’t beat them in the league, we drew twice, we know how difficult that game is going to be, but we also know that it’s our first game of the season and we need to win just to get the momentum going into the next game.
“We are ready and working hard. It’s very important to start the season with a victory, if we win our first game it will give us confidence going into the next game .”
The Bafana Bafana defender who was not part of the final stretch of the silverware-laden season and missed some crucial fixtures in the CAF Champions League has set some individual goals too as the club makes no secret of their desire to win the most coveted honour in African club football.
“My goal this season is to stay injury free, I know now that there’s a lot of work that I need to do on the side, like strengthening to stay injury free and always be available for selection.
“I know that if I can get my momentum I can do really well for the team and hopefully, we can be able to go all the way and win the Champions League, that’s the most important goal for us as a team.”
Masandawana face off against City on Friday evening at the iconic 2010 FIFA World Cup arena at 19h30, with tickets available here.
