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Da Gama worried Mamelodi Sundowns will be 'much more prepared' than Highlands Park
The Lions of the North restart their season against a side that has already played two matches so far and they feel disadvantaged
Highlands Park Park coach Owen Da Gama is "expecting an interesting game" against Mamelodi Sundowns, while at the same time worried that his team is ill-prepared for the showdown at Dobsonville Stadium on Friday.
Da Gama's side are yet to play a match since the Premier Soccer League (PSL) season resumed last Saturday and they come up against opponents who have been involved in two blockbuster fixtures so far.
Sundowns first eliminated Bidvest Wits from the Nedbank Cup on August 8, before Tuesday's 0-0 PSL draw with Orlando Pirates.
It is a situation which concerns Da Gama who feels the disparities in preparedness can work against his side.
“Going into the first match‚ I don’t think there is anyone who will say they are ready and I don’t think that we are prepared," said Da Gama as per Sowetan Live.
“We only started playing 11 versus 11 at training last week because we had to introduce the players gradually due to the health and regulations that we had to follow. I started training with four players‚ moved to six‚ eight‚ ten until we had 22 last week.
“Sundowns have two games under their belt already and they will be much more prepared than us‚ but in saying that there is nothing we can do about it. We just have to be as prepared as we can be.
“We have only played amongst each other at training because we can’t play friendly matches and we will see what happens on Friday."
What also concerns Da Gama is Sundowns' rich in depth as he feels his league-title chasing counterpart Pitso Mosimane can set up strong three teams from his squad.
But the Highlands Park tactician could, however, enjoy the advantage of arriving at Dobsonville armed with vital tactical data after deeply studying Sundowns in action against Wits and Pirates.
“But we have noticed in the match against Pirates on Tuesday‚ Sundowns were getting tired in the second half," Da Gama said.
“I am expecting an interesting game because they have beaten us twice this season and we are not happy about that. It is always very difficult to plan against Sundowns – who would have said that Lebohang Maboe will play right back [against Pirates].
“They can put three teams out there on any given day because they have a big squad and quality players. It is obvious that we will have to plan properly for them because they can introduce anyone from the bench at any time.
“You saw they made five changes against Pirates and they made a number of substitutions against Wits – they have enough depth and quality.”
Highlands Park are positioned eighth on the standings with 18 points off leaders Kaizer Chiefs and 11 above bottom-placed Black Leopards.
They face a Downs side seeking to atone for dropping two points against Pirates.
