Tefu: We can make history
A TRIP that looked like a mere formality for SuperSport United before they bowed out of the Caf Confederation Cup against a team unbeaten at home in the tournament convinced Tefu Mashamaite that they can go all the way.
“Our trip to Zambia made me realise maybe we can win this cup,” he said from the team’s temporary Phokeng base.
“A lot of people didn’t give us a chance, coming up against a team (Zesco United in the quarter-finals) that was unbeaten at home. A lot of people wrote us off after the 0-0 draw at Lucas Moripe Stadium. But we used that to our advantage, we fought until the end and we advanced.
“When Thuso Phala scored that goal in optional time (to tie the match at 2-2 in Ndola), I thought that maybe we can go all the way. The same happened in Tunisia. When we went there to face Club Africain, no one gave us a chance after we played to a 1-1 draw at home against a team that was unbeaten at home. But we thrashed them.”
Matsatsantsa a Pitori’s commanding 3-1 win over Club Africain booked their place in the final against the holders TP Mazembe. The DR Congo giant hosts the first leg on Sunday (3.30pm SA time).
Mashamaite will start in central defence for the suspended Morgan Gould, but that’s nothing new to him. SuperSport used this tournament to help him regain fitness from a knee injury in the qualifying rounds that included trips to Madagascar, Sudan and Liberia in the play-offs.
Club CEO Stanley Mathews admitted that the mandate at first was to test the club’s depth by fielding a B team, with the A team fighting for the league title they lost out on last season. The so-called B team exceeded expectations and now United are on the brink of history.
“It’s all about the mindset; SuperSport and almost every South African football club thrives in situations where the country isn’t expecting much from them,” Mashamaite said.
SuperSport have spent the better part of this week in Rustenburg to prepare for their trip to Lubumbashi, using the artificial pitch in Phokeng and training in the heat to prepare for what they will face on Sunday.
That camp in Rustenburg gave the technical team some degree of preparation for the biggest match in the club’s history.
A year ago, Mamelodi Sundowns conquered the continent in the Caf Champions League with little hope, which makes this something of a golden period for SA football – the first time the country has teams in the finals of back-to-back continental competitions.