Swallows will be hoping to fare better in February than they did during their fixtures in December, where they managed only a single victory in six league games, collecting just five points from a possible 18.
The Birds did, however, manage to win their final game of 2009 on December 23 as they ran out 2-1 victors over Free State Stars at home.
Swallows skipper Lefa Tsutsulupa would like for nothing more than for his team to begin the final weeks of the season with a win against Chiefs.
“It is highly important for us to win on Tuesday evening as it will set the momentum for the remaining games, and starting on a positive note helps the team’s morale. Everyone will be looking to begin with a win,” said Tsutsulupa.
It was Swallows who picked up the win when the teams met for the first time this season back in October last year, and Tsutsulupa is confident that Swallows can repeat that success over their Soweto neighbours this time around.
“I definitely think we can win it. We have the same players and same tactics and I do not see why not,” he added.
The fact that Chiefs are in third place and have been one of the form teams of late, does not concern Tsutsulupa: “They were in good form but that was before the break. Hopefully the long break has taken something out of them. Saying that, one must remember that anything can happen in football.”
Chiefs, on the other hand, lost just one match in December and, like Swallows, also ended 2009 with a win, which was over AmaZulu on the 23rd of the month at the Loftus Stadium in Tshwane. The Amakhosi had a good December and collected a total of 13 points and also scored 11 goals in these matches.
Amakhosi skipper Jimmy Tau, feels that the long break could work out to be both good and bad for Chiefs.
“Getting back into action after such a long midterm break can work both ways for us. In a positive way it could have given us time to recharge our batteries and look at our past mistakes; going into the final quarter it is imperative that we do not repeat our past indiscretions.
“What could be bad is that being inactive for so long could take away some of the momentum that we had built up,” explained Tau.
Tau is aiming to use the match on Tuesday evening to overturn the result from earlier in the season, when Chiefs were beaten by Swallows.
Of his plans to avenge that loss, he said: “This is a derby match and we would have loved to have won in October but were unable to do so and lost to Swallows.
“We now have a second opportunity to rectify the situation and are positive that, given the historical importance of this match, we will be able to achieve our aim of taking the three points from this game.”
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