Hlanti calls on Kaizer Chiefs teammates to support Du Preez and Bimenyimana

• Chiefs have been battling problems upfront in recent seasons
• They brought in promising striker Du Preez from Stellenbosch
• Amakhosi also roped in Bimenyimana who was unattached for six months

WHAT HAPPENED? Bimenyimana has established himself as Chiefs’ leading striker while Du Preez has been struggling but Hlanti has confidence in both. After seasons of failing to find a reliable striker Amakhosi have now found Bimenyimana who has scored six goals in five Premier Soccer League matches. Another South African winter signing Du Preez has one league goal in seven games but left-back Hlanti has expressed confidence in the former Stellenbosch man.

WHAT THEY SAID: “I will be honest with you, he’s [Du Preez] shown positive signs and he fights from the start until the last minute,” said Hlanti as per Times Live. “So we can’t point to him and say he’s not doing what he’s capable of. It’s just a matter of time. It’s up to us. We have the key and we’re the ones who must give Ashley support and courage. We know that in this game when such things happen it depends on what you want. If you need support you get it from your teammates. The key factor for us is character. We support one another.

“The things he does here at training show positive signs. You see with the games we played, we play collectively and we give support to everyone. The support we’re getting from the technical team is also amazing.

“I believe we have good offensive players who can score goals. The good thing about us is we’ve shown the character to support one another and to do things the right way. So it’s a matter of time. It means Caleb wants to score more goals, he just needs support from us.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Chiefs have heralded problems upfront and that has been credited for their seven-year trophy drought. With Zwane signing Bimenyimana and Du Preez ahead of the current season, the two are under pressure to deliver. It is yet to be seen if the duo will solve Amakhosi’s attacking frailties.

STORY IN TWO PHOTOS:

WHAT NEXT FOR DU PREEZ AND BIMENYIMANA? The two forwards now target Chippa United who will be hosted by Chiefs on Saturday. Attention will be on them to see if they can inspire Chiefs to a third straight league victory.