The coach wants his side to throw everything they’ve got against Santos in their Nedbank Cup quarterfinal match on Sunday at the Princess Magogo Stadium to keep alive their hopes of lifting the elusive trophy.
To their advantage Usuthu have already gotten off to some tribulations of their own to get to the last eight. But the Swede maintains his troops must keep their feet firm on the ground and not think the Captonians will be pushovers.
“We’re respecting them like we respect all other opponents, and we’re preparing ourselves like we always do.
“Not so long ago we were down in the bottom of the log like they are now, and that was some months ago. Santos is still a very strong club with very offensive players who will give us a tough time,” said Palmgren.
The People’s Team however has some cup winning pedigree about them having made some significant landmark victories from the early 2000s in their history which AmaZulu cannot afford to ignore.
Under former AmaZulu and Bafana Bafana coach, Clive Barker mentoring them in 2001 they lifted the Bob Save Super Bowl trophy. They also won the BP Top Eight in 2003 and the league title.
Midfielder Stanley Kgatla who brings with him a wealth of cup final experience having won the Telkom Knockout with Platinum Stars in the 2006/07 season is confident they have the goods to annihilate Santos and reach the semi-final stages.
“It’s not going to be a simple match for us to win since they are not playing well at the moment and to add to that they want to prove a point since we also beat them 3-1 in the league last year.
“As long as we don’t change that much from our normal game but play according to the coach’s instruction we should win,” said Kgatla.
To reach the quarter finals Santos beat Nedbank Cup giant killers, University of Pretoria (last 32) 1-0 and Roses United (last 16) 1-0, while the boys in green and white beat Ajax Cape Town and Witbank Spurs to get to the last eight.
The doctor has declared a clean bill of health in the squad with the return of striker Ayanda Dlamini and Stanton Lewis from a hamstring and groin injuries. There are also no suspensions.
Match Details:
15 April 2012, Sunday
AmaZulu vs Santos
Princess Magogo Stadium
Kickoff: 15h00
Tickets available at Computicket: R40 for Adults and R10 for children.