Arthur Zwane looking to turn Princess Magogo Stadium into AmaZulu’s fortress

Arthur Zwane has praised AmaZulu’s growing fortress mentality at the Princess Magogo Stadium after his side edged Stellenbosch on Wednesday, ending a three-year winless run against the Cape outfit.

Usuthu’s victory continued their perfect home record this season, with three wins out of three since relocating to the KwaMashu venue at the start of the campaign. 

Zwane believes turning their new base into a difficult place for opponents to visit is key to the club’s revival.

“It’s not only us, it’s probably all the teams — we have to make it clear that when you come into our backyard, we have to make your life difficult,” Zwane said. 

“That’s the only way we can bring back people in this area to come support us.”

The coach emphasised that home results lay the foundation for sustained progress, insisting AmaZulu must treat their stadium as a fortress where no one should come away with an easy win.

“If we don’t win our home games, how can we expect to win away?” he explained. 

“If you see yourself building something, you don’t let any man beat you in your own house. You know the house better than anyone, you know all the corners. It should be like that in life.”

“In football, Princess Magogo is our house, we should not be beaten at home. And if we happen to lose, teams must leave here saying they had to work for it.”

The victory also carried a sense of redemption for Zwane and his players. Just last season, AmaZulu were humbled 5-0 at home by Stellenbosch, when they were using Umlazi's King Zwelithini Stadium as their base.

This time, however, they stood firm and struck at the right moments to secure all three points.

“We got hammered five-nil by the same opposition at home last season,” Zwane recalled. 

“But now when you look at the squad we have, we are able to go up against Stellenbosch. They went toe to toe with Pirates at the weekend and we were able to beat them, so that’s a big positive for us.”

The result means Usuthu have now taken 11 points from their first six matches — three wins, two draws and a loss — and occupy a steady mid-table position while continuing to grow under Zwane’s leadership.

With their game against Orlando Pirates at the weekend postponed, AmaZulu will have the benefit of a short break before returning to action against TS Galaxy on September 24. 

Zwane hopes the pause will allow his squad to reset and build momentum from their home dominance.

For the former Kaizer Chiefs coach, the focus remains on consistency and instilling belief in his squad, especially at home.

 As AmaZulu look ahead to a testing schedule, their ability to make Princess Magogo Stadium an intimidating destination may prove decisive in their push to climb further up the Betway Premiership standings.