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Willard Katsande

Aaron Dube in Johannesburg, South Africa

KAIZER Chiefs’ industrious defensive midfielder Willard Katsande says his team is ready for Saturday night’s MTN Top8 Cup final against their archrivals Orlando Pirates at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.

The two South African football powerhouses will be playing in a jam packed stadium after a ticket sales record, when all were sold out in just three hours two weeks ago.

This is one of the biggest derbies in Africa. In buses, trains, malls, night clubs and anywhere where people gather the topic is about the much anticipated game. Kaizer Chiefs who have already lost out on penalties to Pirates in the Black Label Cup in July, have a huge assignment to prove not only to its management but to their die-hard supporters also.

Katsande told Chronicle Sport:

“We have played our perennial rivals many times since I joined Amakhosi a few seasons ago. The only thing that I have noticed is that, to win such games we must not over-do things. We will treat this game like any other normal game but we don’t want to pay any respect to them.”

The Warriors midfielder added that they will play their normal game, being careful not to open unnecessary spaces. Most likely Kingstone Nkhatha, Katsande and Ovidy Karuru will be in action under flood lights. Matthew Rusike played at the weekend in the Chiefs’ reserve side.