It’s north versus south

IT’S THE pride of Cape Town versus the pride of Pretoria on the soccer field this weekend. Cape Town City are in only their third season as a PSL club, but will line up in a third final when they contest the climax of the MTN8 competition against SuperSport United at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban tomorrow night.

Looking at that astounding statistic – established in 2016, three cup finals – the question to be posed is: What’s the secret? Is there a trick to what City are doing? The answer is “no, not at all”.

For City, and for club owner John Comitis, this adventure has always been about doing something you love and believe in – and the rest will invariably follow.

Having been involved in South African football for many years, Comitis knows the ins and outs of the sport.

As a club boss he has tried and failed on many occasions. Now, with the formation of City, Comitis has taken the lessons learnt from the failures and used it make sure that City don’t falter. Because of this, good things have happened: victory in the Telkom Knockout in their debut season in 2016; MTN8 runners-up last season; and now, in Durban tomorrow, they are hoping to bring this trophy back to the Mother City.

City coach Benni McCarthy was just a month into his first job as a head coach when losing in last year’s final. This time he is determined to make sure he wins his first-ever trophy as a coach.

As for SuperSport, who are the MTN8 champions, having defeated City on penalties in last year’s final.

They will be super-confident they can do so again, especially based on the fact that the Pretoria side is starting to find its feet under coach Kaitano Tembo.

Since the departure of the successful Gavin Hunt to Bidvest Wits, SuperSport have struggled to find a coach to match their ambitions. Now Tembo, having served his tenure as an assistant, is rapidly carving out a reputation as a coach on the rise.

It should be a cracker of a game.