As the Betway Premiership season reaches a frantic crescendo, AmaZulu FC head coach Arthur Zwane has publicly championed his youthful squad, lauding their resilience and unwavering commitment to the Usuthu badge throughout a demanding campaign.
With his side preparing to host Chippa United at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday at 15:00, Zwane reflected on a season characterised by his team’s ability to defy expectations. The coach maintained that his inexperienced charges deserve immense credit for navigating the pressures of the top flight and holding their own in a highly competitive league.
Usuthu boasts the youngest squad in the top flight, with an average age of 26.1 (as per transfermarkt.co.za). With the majority of the players having plied their trade in the lower divisions, Zwane believes his young army deserves immense credit for the position they find themselves in, having punched above their weight on numerous occasions.
This squad has been competing with teams that went to the market and buy expensive players, this club should appreciate these players, I, as their coach appreciate these players, so what’s going to happen going forward we will give our all, we want to win all of our remaining game, because we don’t know what’s going to happen, the focus is on us. We are not worried about someone else, we don’t want to rely on other teams to do the business for us. We are capable of doing it, we’ve done it before”
The task will be far from straightforward. Their opponents, the Chilli Boys, arrive in Durban with their own desperate agenda. Chippa United are fighting to distance themselves from the looming relegation scrap and have built a degree of momentum, having claimed four points from a possible six in their last two outings.
As both sides descend on Moses Mabhida Stadium, Saturday’s encounter promises to be a tactical battle, Zwane’s exuberant youth looking to reclaim their winning touch, against a Chippa United side fighting with the desperation of survival at 15:00.