Maritzburg United defender Clayton Daniels says he is treating their KwaZulu-Natal derby clash against AmaZulu as 'just another game'.
AmaZulu are still nursing their wounds after losing 1-0 to Kaizer Chiefs on Wednesday despite having been on the front foot for large periods of the encounter.
In contrast, the Team of Choice are in buoyant spirits after their second successive league victory - a 2-1 win over Bloemfontein Celtic last Saturday.
This particular KZN derby has an added edge to it but Maritzburg centre-back Daniels is not letting all the hype surrounding the fixture get in his head and is viewing the match as any other game.
"We haven't thought too much about all these things like to say, 'oh it's a derby' and that [if we win] we’ll make it third win in a row. We really don't need to put those kinds of things in our minds. It’s just another game, like any other," said Daniels as quoted by SowetanLIVE.
"For us, it's another opportunity to give our best. We don't really focus on the hype of the derby. In each and every game we play for three points, so I think we must treat the games the same way. We aim to work hard in each and every game we play… follow the coach’s instructions."
Meanwhile, Usuthu tactician Benni McCarthy bemoaned his side's wastefulness in front of goals against the Amakhosi and urged them to be more clinical.
"I am disappointed because it was a tremendous opportunity for us to walk away with three points. Chiefs are not in a good way, but they are a giant, so when you play giants, whether they're in top form or not, you play the way we did but you have to be clinical," stated McCarthy.
"We have to continue to work because there are so many positives…the confidence, the way we move the ball. We must just convert our chances."
- TEAMtalk media
