Highly experienced SuperSport United goalkeeper Washington Arubi is positive they will represent South Africa well when they take on Gaborone United in a crucial CAF Confederation Cup this weekend.

The two sides meet in the second preliminary round first leg at the Botswana National Stadium on Saturday evening. Kickoff is at 7pm (SA time).

Matsatsantsa website conducted Q and A with Zimbabwean international Arubi ahead of an important encounter on the road.

Q and A

How was your weekly training session ahead of the CAF match away?

Our weekly session ahead of the CAF match has been quiet intense as you know it's never easy playing your first match away from home.

How is the level of confidence at training?

I am actually happy with the attitude that my teammates have shown at training ahead of what I can say is the beginning of crucial encounters we will face on the road in the not so easy jungles of Africa.

How's the team looking since some of the players will be playing in this competition for the first time?

Remember SuperSport is not a small team as well even though we do have players who are playing on the continent for the first time and obviously starting with an away fixture, yes it's not easy but I'm happy that all the rookies are excited with the task and the mood is 100% positive. Also, having experienced guys like myself, Onismor Bhasera and Captain Thulani Hlatshwayo who have played in Africa before is a plus and a confidence booster for the rookies because they know they are not alone, we are going there to fight as a team.

The important aspect in this match is that we have experienced players like you who played on the continent in the past?

I’m actually happy you have acknowledged the fact that I'm one of the experienced players in the team, one who has played in the continent in the past and I'm sure that's an advantage for the team to use my experience and that of others to get a positive result after 90 minutes come Saturday night.

What are the serious challenges playing away in some other parts on the African continent?

Playing away from home alone is not easy, away from your fans, the travelling and change of climate is definitely not in our advantage so having to adapt to the environment can be a challenge as well especially for new players who don't have experience to play on the continent but this is where some of us who have the experience come in handy to steady the ship and make sure we sail to safety and come out with a positive result.

How would the opposition welcome visiting teams upon arrival in your past experience with Marumo Gallants as they would be aware that you are not familiar with your surroundings?

To be honest with you here in Southern African countries the reception upon arrival is not much different than up there because we treat each other as neighbours (neighbouring countries) unlike in other countries where if your team logistics is dependent on the hosting team they can frustrate you from the time your arrival because remember they also want a result so they know if they use psychological advantage by being a bit hostile they are leading already before the match is played, but as professionals we know and we must not expect to be treated like we are at home that's why they call it the jungles of continental football, you have to be mentally prepared for anything until the final whistle.

What do you know about Gaborone United?

What I know about Gaborone United, if I'm not mistaken they were runners-up in their league last season, so it means they are a good side, so we must treat this one like a Cup final and fight for a positive result because coming second in a 16-team league is not an easy one.

In your opinion, what must the team do to ease the pressure of playing away and fight for a win?

In my opinion as I have said having the experience of having played on the continent especially away, I think we must go there and play our normal game but in the back of our minds knowing we are not representing ourselves but South Africa as a whole and not focus much on the fact that we are playing away from home but focus on getting a positive result and forget about the last game we played. I'm sure by that we will not be pressured much even though you can't take away the pressure because no one wants to play to lose a match, we want to play to win and go all the way and put SuperSport amongst the best on the continent as well so the pressure to win cannot be written off because we are not going there for holiday.

Did you and your teammates get important advice from the technical team?

Remember we have an experienced technical team, we have a great coach in Gavin Hunt and also Andre Arendse who has played crucial games for Bafana Bafana away from home so I cannot preempt what advice we have been getting from the technical team ahead of a crucial encounter but I am sure it's definitely something that is helpful towards the big game on Saturday night.

Good luck and Safe travels Washi!!!

Thank you so much for wishing us the best of luck, we definitely need it since it's not only about SuperSport United but for South Africa as well and I would also like to wish all the local teams – Mamelodi Sundowns, Orlando Pirates and Sekhukhune United who are representing SA on Continent the best of luck.

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