Source: @(Gerhard Duraan/Gallo Images)
The Eastern Cape is desperate for the return of top-flight football, and Chippa United are working around the clock to ensure their enforced exile comes to an end very soon. The Chilli Boys are optimistic that the ongoing pitch renovations at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha will be completed by early next month. If all goes according to plan, the club will finally be able to host the reigning champions, Mamelodi Sundowns, on their own turf on the 12th of September.
The start of the current Betway Premiership campaign has been a logistical nightmare for the Gqeberha-based outfit. Following strict pitch inspections, the Premier Soccer League (PSL) ruled that the playing surfaces at both the Buffalo City Stadium in East London and the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium were entirely unfit for professional use. The damning verdict highlighted a severe need for critical maintenance, forcing Chippa to abandon the Eastern Cape and adopt a nomadic existence for their opening fixtures of the season.
Consequently, the club had to scramble for alternative venues at the eleventh hour. They hosted Richards Bay at the Dobsonville Stadium in Soweto for their first ‘home’ game of the season. Their second home fixture proved even more physically demanding, taking them all the way to King’s Park in Durban to face a formidable Orlando Pirates side. The intense disruption ultimately took its toll, culminating in a heavy 3-0 defeat on Sunday afternoon.
Head coach Brandon Truter has not shied away from voicing his frustrations regarding the immense strain these relocations have placed on his squad. The seasoned tactician emphasised that the constant travelling has severely hampered their early-season rhythm. “It makes it massively difficult,” Truter explained to the press. “We train, then it’s a two-hour flight. Once you get off a flight, where you were sitting for a long time, you have to recover.”
Truter further elaborated on the tactical sacrifices required when a team is perpetually in transit. “How much time do you really spend on recovery before you work on tactics, before you work on fitness? And then you need to acclimatise coming from the coastal to inland regions,” he added. The coach highlighted the stark contrasts in playing conditions, noting that they had to battle the driving rain in Dobsonville before abruptly transitioning back to the coastal humidity of Durban. Simply put, lacking a permanent home venue is playing a massive role in their disjointed start to the campaign.
Chippa are scheduled to play their next home fixture on the 5th of September against newly-promoted Milford, which will once again take place at Dobsonville. However, the club’s management is holding onto the firm hope that this will be their final match on the road before returning to Gqeberha exactly one week later.
Despite the chaotic schedule and the infamous churn of coaches at the club in recent years, Truter remains steadfast in his ambitions for the season. Taking the reins after last season’s anxious battle against relegation, his primary mandate from the chairman is clear: ensure safety early on. Yet, Truter’s personal targets are significantly higher.
“The first target is to not go through what we’ve been through last season,” he noted, referencing the relegation dogfight. “My personal targets are a top-eight finish and a cup final. The chairman said we are not to go through this struggle again, and I think we are right on track. We have assembled a good team. Here and there, we need to reinforce, but I’m fairly confident we’ll reach the top eight.”
Truter is equally optimistic about claiming silverware, expressing comfort in his side’s ability to challenge for either the Carling Knockout or the Nedbank Cup. For now, however, all eyes remain firmly fixed on the pitch rehabilitation in Gqeberha, as the Chilli Boys desperately seek the home-ground advantage they need to turn their lofty ambitions into a tangible reality.
