6 months ago
34
Black Leopards coach Maxwell Konadu has vowed that they won't rest during the current Fifa hiatus as they aim to play a few friendlies to maintain their momentum.
Leopards have had a promising start to the Motsepe Foundation Championship (MFC), winning three of their first six games with two draws and a defeat.
"We won't rest. We will continue working, trying to sharpen up the boys. We will arrange a few friendly matches before the Fifa break ends,'' Konadu said.
"We must not lose the momentum we are starting to accumulate, so we will continue working very hard at training during this international break. One thing I can say is that we will keep fighting until the end, so we can't relax if we really want to fight.''
Expectations are high that Konadu will change Leopards' fortunes as he is a coach with a reputation. The 51-year-old Ghanaian joined Leopards on a three-year deal in the offseason, having helped less-fancied side Nsoatreman win the Ghanaian FA Cup. It was the team's first-ever trophy, qualifying them for the CAF Confederation Cup. The club based in Nsoatre town also finished fourth in the Ghanaian Premiership.
The Leopards coach also reflected on their weekend's 1-all draw at home to JDR Stars as they aim to "put pressure on the teams ahead of them".
"It's not the best of results, at least it's better than nothing. We didn't expect them to take the lead early in the game. The way we fought back was quite remarkable... I mean they scored in the 10th minute and in the 17th minute we equalised. These people came to sit back and wait for counter-attacks,'' Konadu said.
"I always say that you mustn't lose at home... we always want to win at home but we will take a draw as well if we can't win. We want to put pressure on the teams who are leading the pack."
NFD results
Callies 0-0 Durban; Baroka 0-0 Casric; Milford 2-1 Highbury; Leopards 1-1 Lions; Kruger 0-0 JDR; Orbit 1-0 AmaTuks; Upington 1-0 Venda; Leruma 2-0 Spurs
SowetanLIVE
