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Middendorp: Castro could partner Nurkovic

Cape Town - Kaizer Chiefs coach Ernst Middendorp says he would consider playing Samir Nurkovic and Leonardo Castro as a two-striker combination.

Nurkovic came off the bench to join Castro on the field in the Telkom Knockout clash with Cape Town City, which resulted in a penalty shoot-out win for Amakhosi.

The Serbian wasn't fully fit, following a head injury, but joined starter Castro upfront and Middendorp reckons the pair could play alongside each other in the future.

"I said it before, Samir is an exceptional player," Middendorp told the press.

"He was out for three weeks, not really able to use his heading ability. He used it for the first time [against City]. We said 'Okay, you're not going to defend set-pieces. Stay away, go to the corner'. It's early enough."

"On the other side, Castro scored three goals in a fantastic 45 minutes last Saturday against Sundowns and it's difficult [to separate them] at the moment.

Asked if he would consider playing the two strikers in the same team, the coach replied: "Why not? Why not?"

Amakhosi are back in action on Sunday when they face rivals Mamelodi Sundowns at Loftus Versfeld.

Kick-off is at 15:30.

- TeamTalk Media

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