Kaizer Chiefs head into Friday’s CAF Confederation Cup meeting with Red Arrows needing to overturn a 1-0 deficit, while uncertainty continues over the fitness of influential playmaker Lebohang Maboe.
The 32-year-old has scored two league goals and provided two assists this season, and Chiefs have appeared short of creativity in his absence. The club has not yet confirmed when Maboe will return after he was injured against Golden Arrows.
Coach Fernando Da Cruz used a back four and paired Reeve Frosler with Sibongiseni Mthethwa in a double midfield pivot during Chiefs’ 1-1 draw with Stellenbosch.
He retained the same midfield combination for the first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup preliminary round against Red Arrows, but Chiefs lost 1-0. With Maboe and Siphesihle Ndlovu both unavailable through injury, Da Cruz’s options have been limited, although the Frosler-Mthethwa partnership has so far failed to deliver the desired results.
The Glamour Boys have now drawn five of their past six Betway Premiership matches. Their immediate focus is on the second leg against Red Arrows, which will be played on Friday, 23 October at 18:00.
Chiefs must score at least twice to progress without conceding, having been beaten in the opening match of the tie. The club will then face Orlando Pirates on 31 October.
There was also reportedly a heated exchange between Reeve Frosler and Renaldo Leaner after the defeat by Red Arrows.
