Da Cruz defends deployment of a versatile Frosler in the midfield

Frosler was deployed in the midfield on Tuesday night, when Chiefs played a 1-1 draw against Stellenbosch FC,  their fifth draw of the season in just eight matches. With holding midfielders Lebohang Maboe, Siphesihle Ndlovu and Adolf Mtasingwa unavailable, Da Cruz says going with Frosler was the logical move for them.

"We already tried Reeve [Frosler] in preseason. The best quality Reeve has is that he is able to play in different positions, so it is very interesting for him. He also has a good header, which was shown against Stellenbosch. We also have two injured players in this position, so we don't have a lot of choices. The other choices we had were young players, but we preferred to start with Reeve in this position," said Da Cruz

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There was also a scare when Da Cruz could not attend the post-match press conference against Stellies, as he was said to have picked up an illness, and assistant coach Dillon Sheppard stood in for him. But the Frenchman was back on duty yesterday, as he explained what happened.

After they were drawn against TS Galaxy last night in the Carling Knockout first round, Da Cruz is looking at this tournament as a stage that can give them a different dynamic to their programme. With some key fixtures ahead, including the much-anticipated and sold-out Soweto Derby at the end of this month, Da Cruz knows there’s a hectic programme ahead.

The Carling Cup also offers Chiefs an opportunity to challenge for some honours this season, but Da Cruz says the focus is on taking each game as it comes.

Meanwhile, when asked about the incident that led to Chiefs withdrawing Faiz Abrahams from the starting line-up against Stellies, after discovering that there was a clause that didn’t allow him to play against his parent club, Da Cruz opted to sit that one out.