Royal AM head coach John Maduka has had his say on Kaizer Chiefs’ red card and penalty record ahead of their Nedbank Cup quarterfinal meeting.
Arthur Zwane’s charges will take on Thwihli Thwahla on Sunday, 16 April, at the Chatsworth Stadium at 18:00.
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Maduka was speaking during the club’s Nedbank Cup media open day on Tuesday at Royal Ranch in Pietermaritzburg.
He defended the Glamour Boys, who’ve been criticised for having been favoured by referees’ decisions this season.
Amakhosi scored seven times from the penalty spot in this campaign, while nine red cards have been in their favour.
Maduka says Chiefs can’t be blamed for that because the officials are the ones who make decisions.
At the end of the day, you can’t blame Chiefs by playing the advantage cause the decision is not made by them,” he told the journalists.
“It happens in football whereby there can be penalties; there can be red cards and all those things.
“But we must be able to deal with that as professionals. And yeah, our players should be ready mentally and ensure that if we want to go to the next round, we must prepare for everything.
“So that is part of the area that you have to prepare for that if anything happens, that can happen anytime with any team against any team. We must be able to deal with it.”
AM and the Soweto giants have met twice in the league this season.
Their first match ended in favour of the KZN side in the first round, while Chiefs won the second-round meeting.
Chiefs haven’t lost in their previous six games in all competitions. Now, Maduka says his charges are underdogs, with opponents under pressure to stretch their unbeaten run.
“We’re looking forward to the game,” he added.
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“Yes, they haven’t lost in their past six games, which means they are in good form. The pressure is on them because everyone expects [them] to win against us.
“And also, they beat us in the league game, so the pressure is on them.”
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