Soccer
Saintfiet upbeat ahead of SuperSport United─── 14:02 Wed, 20 Aug 2014
Lee Khotlele
Bloemfontein - Free State Stars will be eager to get their season 2014/15 campaign off the mark when they welcome SuperSport United to the Charles Mopeli Stadium in Phuthaditjhaba tonight in the Premier Soccer League match.
The QwaQwa side who narrowly survived relegation last season, have yet to register a point this campaign following two defeats in their first two outings.
Coach, Tom Saintfiet remains optimistic about getting positive results with the current squad, despite setbacks suffered early in the PSL.
Saintfiet took over the reins of the club this season aims to not only ensure Stars survival in the league, but also help them return to their level best, as was the case in the 2007/08 season when they finished in top five.
Having lost their opening matches to Kaizer Chiefs and Platinum Stars, Saintfiet is far from pressing the panic button. Instead said in no time the team would start picking up maximum points.
Although Saintfiet believes his side has been playing a good football, he lamented composure, saying that his players created numerous scoring opportunities, but are failing to convert them.
“We had a discussion with the management and the players of what our objectives are this season,” he added.”
“With the squad that I have, I’m confident we’ll do much better than last season. That is our aim. We have a team to get inside the top eight and I’ve got a good feeling about this team,” Saintfiet told OFM Sport.
Stars suffered an early blow in the season with news that goalkeeper, Dauda Diakite, has been ruled out of action for almost six months due to a knee injury.
The Burkina Faso international sustained the injury on debut for Stars when he slipped during his sides’ opening match against Chiefs. He injured his knee while he took a goal kick in the first half of the match and was subsequently replaced by Ayanda Mtshali in the goals.
Tonight’s match kicks off at 18:00
