Golden Arrows coach Vusi Vilakazi is praying that goalkeeper Siyabong Mbatha will be fit when they face Swallows FC at Dobsonville Stadium on Friday (19:30).
Mbatha, who has been in good form for Arrows since he was given his debut by the club against Pretoria Callies in the Nedbank Cup last-32 last month, did not finish the game against Royal AM on Saturday last weekend.
He was seen painfully holding his rib cage and was replaced by Nkosi Gumede, who then had a shocker of the game as he gifted Royal AM a third goal as they lost 3-1.
When it comes to Sifiso Mlungwana, his confidence might be down as he has been in the stands for the last few games. The last time Mlungwana featured was when Arrows were crushed 4-0 by TS Galaxy late in January.
Vilakazi then opted to give Mbathaa a chance, as he did not play a single game last term after he crossed the floor from AmaZulu to Arrows at the beginning of the campaign.
The club’s former DStv Diski Challenge coach said he and his co-coach Mabhuti Khenyeza have been unfortunate with injuries, as they are also missing their captain Thabani Zuke due to the long-term injury.
“I think it was just an unfortunate part and I hope it is not a serious injury because he (Mbatha) has been good to us in goals,” said Vilakazi.
“But if he’s maybe injured, we have to give someone else a chance. This has been our unfortunate part where we get injuries and work with something that is there, trying to solve problems.
“But we are not giving up, we need to put our heads up especially as the technical staff in terms of working with the boys and not being discouraged. We have to be patient because we are looking at the bigger picture, trying to get a decent position on the log.”
Arrows would be encouraged that, despite Vilakazi struggling to put a consistent team together, the last time they faced Swallows, all hell broke loose. Abafana Bes’Thende crushed Swallows by 4-0 in September, leading to coach Dylan Kerr to be fired by the Dube Birds.
Swallows currently also have no coach after Ernst Middendorp left them under a cloud, joining SV Meppen in the third division in Germany, after they lost 4-1 to Orlando Pirates.
Musa Nyatama, who was previously the caretaker coach, is expected to be in charge until the end of the season.
