As Dobsonville Stadium is expected to be packed to the rafters when they host Kaizer Chiefs tonight, Swallows chairman David Mogashoa has vowed they left no stone unturned in effort to avoid pitch invasion and other possible security mishaps.
The match starts at 7.30pm. Mogashoa told Sowetan yesterday they forked out R250,000 to prepare for this match, hence they hiked tickets prices to R100 each from the normal R60. Chiefs' big fanbase countrywide has seen a few of their away games being sold-out affairs. Early last month the league slapped Chiefs with a R200,000 fine after their fans invaded the pitch away to Stellenbosch at a 16,000-seater Danie Craven Stadium.
As Dobsonville is another small venue that accommodates 24,000 people, the Swallows boss has assured security will be up to scratch. ''We don't leave anything to chance in category A games.
"This game against Chiefs was planned three weeks ago. Security will be very tight and that's why the tickets are selling at R100 each...I am not backing down because we spent R250,000 to prepare for this game,'' Mogashoa said yesterday.
Player-coach Musa Nyatama will be on the bench as caretaker coach as the Birds are still on a lookout for a new coach after sacking Dylan Kerr a few weeks ago. Nyatama is no stranger to being in the Swallows dugout, having stood in for Kerr when he was still sorting out his work permit and coached the first five games of the season with two wins, two defeats and a draw.
Mogashoa has backed Nyatama to stun Amakhosi. "I am very confident that coach Nyatama will surprise many people by beating Chiefs. I don't know if you had coach Kerr's interviews when he said the team that played Stellenbosch wasn't his team, so it means there was a problem, maybe players didn't want to play for him. Players react differently to different coaches and I trust they will play for Nyatama,'' Mogashoa stated.
