On Knocking Defending Champions Sundowns Out Of The Nedbank Cup
We went to the game against Mamelodi Sundowns this past weekend thinking that this is a massive opportunity for us to each the Nedbank Cup semi-finals. Our coach (Steve Barker) said, "You have to beat the best team to stand a chance of winning this cup", and that is what we did. Hopefully from here we can move on to our semi-fnal match (against Sekhukhune United) and win the cup at the end of the season. The feeling before the game, I can't describe it… We were all nervous because Sundowns had that unbeaten streak and we knew what we were up against. We told ourselves to stay calm and at the end of the day, we came out with the result that we wanted. Whenever we play against Sundowns, our performance always goes a few notches up. When we played against them in the league and drew 1-1, we were at our best and we should have won that game. The atmosphere at Athlone Stadium and the occasion was big because Sundowns is the best team in the PSL. We had an opportunity to test ourselves against them and that is what we tried. It's Sundowns, so we were all up for it. When we drew against them in the league, we learned that they are just another team that can be beaten, we just have to take our chances. That day in Stellenbosch, we couldn't beat them and we learned a lot from that match. We have a good team and if we work harder together as a team, we can reach even the highest level.
On Rayners' Performance And Brace
Iqraam Rayners has brought a different dimension to how we play and we have a great combination together. I do all the dirty work for him because I'm a defensive attacker. I just give him the ball so that he can do the rest. He is a clinical finisher and he is probably one of the best finishers I have ever played with in my career. The combination between the two of us is good and we are benefiting from his form. His intelligence makes him unique and stand out from his counterparts, but you won't see it because people look at the number of goals that he scores. But he is very intelligent player and his movements on and off the ball and just taking defenders away makes a lot of difference in a match. That's what he brought against Sundowns. Before he joined us in January, I had never played with him before, but the way we understand each other, it's like we've known each other for a very long time. In fact, I played with his brother, Imran Rayners. Imran's style of play is similar to (that of) Iqraam – he had pace, skill and (was) a clinical finisher. I had a great combination with Imran as well and I used to assist him to score goals and he used to assist me to score goals as well. As fate would have it, I'm now enjoying another combination with Iqraam. I guess it's more like carrying over a relationship from one brother to another. Imran came to watch one of our friendly matches against Cape Town City and I said to him, "Hey, your brother plays just like you." His answer was, "Yes, but my brother is much better", and that is all I needed to know.
On The Team's Good Run Of Form Since January
After we lost to Orlando Pirates in January, we had a good run of form of seven matches – we won six and drew one – before we lost against Kaizer Chiefs. Before we started winning, we were making individual errors and we looked into ourselves and asked, "Why are we playing football?", and from there, we turned things around. The match against Cape Town City, when we won 3-2, was the turning point and since then we never looked back. We and Cape Town City are developing this rivalry and whenever we play against them, it's a battle between two teams who want to rule the Western Cape. In January, the thought of fighting relegation at the end of the season was there, but at the same time we knew that our team was not bad. The coach said we have to think about it because if we are not afraid of getting relegated it means that we don't care. Now we have Sekhukhune United in the semi-final and we will do our analysis about them, but at the end of the day it's a cup game and anything can happen. People saw what happened with us and Sundowns, so we have to take it one game at a time and do what we have to do to get the results.
On The Remainder Of The Season
There are five league matches left before the end of the season, but winning the Nedbank Cup is the number one priority. Getting into the Top Eight as well because we want to be in the MTN8 next season. We finished fourth last season and we can't not be in the Top Eight this season because we are a very good team and we deserve to be there. It's not going to be given to us, but we are going to work hard to achieve that. Personally, at the beginning of the season I set myself goals to get into the national U23 team, which I got. I probably have to set up new goals for the following season because goals and assists are not my personal goals. I'm a team player, I set myself goals based on what the team wants to achieve.
On Playing For Oswin Andries
I played with Oswin Andries for three seasons in the Diski (Challenge) team and losing him was a sad loss to all of us. After he passed, our next match was a (3-0) win against Swallows FC in the Nedbank Cup and we won it as an honour to him. We are honouring him with this cup run and it will be good if we can win it.
