Dolezar back to face Chiefs

The charismatic Paul Dolezar returns to the local soccer scene as coach of Bloemfontein Celtic against Kaizer Chiefs in the second semifinal of the Telkom Charity Cup at Soccer City on Saturday hoping to make an early impression.

Speaking from the Free State capital on Tuesday, Dolezar disclosed that the clash against his former team, Chiefs, would see the return to action of talented but wayward former Mamelodi Sundows midfielder Sipho Nunens.

After he was discarded by Sundowns coach Angel Cappa for unprofessional conduct last season, Nunens was loaned out to Dynamos, but saw little action.

Dolezar believes he can get the best out of Nunens, who was capped once by Bafana Bafana, and help him revive a career that once looked destined for greater things.

At Celtic, the club he joins on a season-long loan spell, Nunens is to be entrusted with the creative duties alongside Siyabonga Nkosi in a partnership that Dolezar is expecting a lot from.

"They are both talented young players and I hope that they will combine well to play a meaningful role for us this season," he said.

Nkosi, who helped Bafana Bafana to reach the quarter-final stages of the Gold Cup in the USA recently, and Nunens will be tested by John Mosheou in the midfield battle that has the potential to decide the game.

Another player Doelzar is due to use this weekend is Zambian striker Rotson Kilambe, who spent two indifferent seasons at Sundowns.

Kilambe did not score regularly at Sundowns, but Dolezar is expecting him to lead his attack as they embark on an ambitious mission to win at least one cup this season.

"I know what Kilambe is capable of and hopefully he can find his goal-scoring form to help us challenge for bigger things in our league campaign," he said about the marksman he coached during his last stint at Chloorkop.

For Kilambe to make am immediate impact at Celtic, he must get the better of a Chiefs defence that did not look that good against Orlando Pirates in the Vodacom Challenge final in losing 2-1.

In the early semifinal, Sundowns play Black Leopards in a game that will see coach Jean-Yves Kerjean, who had a short stint with Pirates two seasons ago, make his debut for the Limpopo-based side.

Sundowns will be defending a trophy they won last season by beating Chiefs.