Durban City target derby response amid congested schedule

The Citizens are coming off a busy period that included a Nedbank Cup semi-final triumph over Casric Stars last weekend, followed by a narrow midweek defeat to reigning champions Mamelodi Sundowns.  

With limited recovery time, attention now shifts to the KwaZulu-Natal derby set for Saturday afternoon at the King Zwelithini Stadium, and Poggenpoel says the focus is on delivering an improved performance after their recent setback. 

"Not a lot of time to prepare physically, but it's more tactically – watching the videos, the clips, analysing, and it's a derby so we'd like to go out there and put in a proper performance for our fans again," said Poggenpoel.

"We've drawn against [Arrows] twice – in the cup, and obviously won on penalties, and also in the first round, so we want to go out there and get a positive result to bounce from the midweek defeat."

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Arrows arrive on the back of a heavy 5-0 defeat at the hands of Orlando Pirates on Tuesday, with Poggenpoel stressing that Abafana Bes’thende remain a dangerous side despite their heavy defeat. 

"They keep the ball well, they play with a good intensity so I expect a high intensity game, the ball will stay on the floor – carpet football as they say," he added.

"So it's going to be very interesting to see how it goes, they are a good side; obviously they lost in midweek, but I don't think that's a reflection of who they are, they play very well and I think it's going to be a tough one."