Thanda Royal Zulu will be boosted by the return of their star striker Bernard Parker when they host Orlando Pirates in their Telkom Knockout first round tie at the Chatsworth Stadium this coming Sunday.
Parker is on a 10 day trial with leading Swedish outfit Malmo but will return on Saturday and will lead the TRZ attack against the out of sorts Buccaneers in what promises to be a closely fought cuptie. Parker has been a sensation for both club and country this season scoring four league goals for the KwaZulu Natal based side and three for Bafana Bafana in as many games for his country.
Parker left for Sweden last Thursday after coming off the bench to score the winner in Bafana’s 2-1 victory over a watered down Ghana at the Free State Stadium last Wednesday night.
Thanda assistant coach Johan Eriksson believes the 22-year-old Boksburg born striker will make the grade in Europe. Said Eriksson: “Parker is the form player at the moment. But he has worked hard to get where he is. I have no doubt he will make it in Europe. He has the right attitude. He is always the first player at training and has worked hard since he joined us just over a season ago, working on his strength and skills. We are delighted with the way he has improved. He is not the biggest striker in the world but is deadly in front of goals and compensates for lack of height with his new strength, hard work and hunger to succeed.”
Eriksson is happy to have Parker and his other key striker Norman Smith back for the cup clash against Bucs. Smith returns from injury and is set to join Parker in a two pronged attack.
More good news from the TRZ camp is the return from injury of defender Japie Motale and right wing Katleho Loke.
“We are almost at full strength and playing at home against a big side like Pirates will be a big motivation for us,” said Eriksson.” There is always a lot of hype when a small club plays one of the bigger sides in the league.”
Eriksson, like most Premier Soccer League coaches, finds the stop-start season disturbing. Only four league matches have been completed since the kick-off in August due to international fixtures and the current Knockout Last 16 round played over two weekends which started at the weekend and will be completed on Sunday.
With another international break scheduled for the middle of November, Eriksson and head coach Roger Palmgren believe it is important to win not just for the prestige money on offer.
“With more breaks ahead, we need to win to make sure we have more game time and keep the momentum going.”
Eriksson and Palmgren have done their homework on Pirates and they are not going to be lulled into a false sense of security against a Pirates side that has failed to ignite this season.
Bucs have notched only two points from four matches and scored only one goal in those league fixtures.
TRZ are hoping to add Bucs to the Kaizer Chiefs scalp they took when Parker scored both goals in a sensational 2-1 league win at Loftus at the end of August.
“We have studied Pirates and they are not as bad as they look on paper. They have a quality side and we know what to expect and that will be a hard cup game.”