MTNFootball

Vladislav Heric

Black Leopards have been training on an artificial surface in Thohoyandou in preparation for their meeting with Motor Action on Sunday.

Lidoda Duvha are in action in the second leg of their 2012 CAF Confederation Cup clash with Zimbabwean side Motor Action after the first match finished 1-1.

Their opponents use an artificial surface, so Leopards coach Vladislav Heric is desperate to give his players as much time as possible to acclimatise to the pitch conditions before their flight to Harare tomorrow.

Motor Action snatched a late 1-1 draw in the first leg at the Peter Mokaba Stadium a fortnight ago and will be favourites going into their home fixture.

“We want to avoid surprises and after we learnt that they use an artificial surface, we decided to give the players as much exposure to this as possible because it is very different to playing on grass. It definitely gives Motor Action an advantage,” Heric said.

The coach says he is unsure of the result on Sunday as his team face a “big challenge”, but has promised that they will give their all.

“I cannot say what the result will be but we will take a positive approach to the game. It is a proud moment for the players and for myself to be representing South Africa in this competition and we take that very seriously.”

Heric faces something of a defensive crises ahead of the game. Harry Nyirenda is a long-term injury absentee, while veteran stars Siphiwe Mkhonza and Zvenyika Makonese signed after the club submitted their 23 registered names for the competition, meaning they are ineligible and leaving the coach with a hole in the centre-back position.