Richmond United aiming for a HWBSL top eight finish

The Red Army will play an away game against the University of Johannesburg on Saturday, and return home to prepare to host TS Galaxy Queens on 9 November at Merino Park Stadium.

Speaking to SABC Sport, Lisene says he is aware of the competition ahead but his youthful side is ready to leave everything on the pitch.

“To be honest we started well, but we were then faced with challenges regarding some changes in the coaching staff. But we have managed to deal with our challenges. Now ours is to play wholeheartedly to make sure we secure a top eight finish this season.

We are very much aware of the competition ahead, against coach Dunga’s UJ ladies and TS Galaxy, but I have faith in my team and believe they will hold their own - because they know what is at stake,’’ said Lisene.

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This weekend clash away to UJ ladies, will be a classic master vs student encounter, as coach Dunga was once coached by Lisene during the Bloemfontein Celtic ladies days.

“It is always interesting to play against coach Dunga’s UJ ladies, because I was her coach at Bloemfontein Celtics. And I guess that is the reason why it is always tough to play against her team,’’ added Lisene.

Richmond come into their Saturday clash on the back of a defeat to coach Thinasonke Mbuli’s University of the Western Cape.

The 51-year-old says the defeat was a good wake-up call ahead of their two final matches this season.

“We took a lot of lessons from that match against UWC, and I believe the defeat was a wake-up call ahead of the away match to UJ,’’ he expressed

In other weekend fixtures, defending champions will be away to face the University of Pretoria on Saturday, with TS Galaxy Queens against the already relegated Thunderbirds ladies on Sunday.