MDC Shield to take reserve league to new heights
Notoane and Legetla excited by innovation
Mamelodi Sundowns and Bloemfontein Celtic MultiChoice Diski (MDC) coaches David Notoane and Jeffrey Legetla believe the inception of the MDC Shield will strengthen the level of competition in the reserve league.
On Monday, PSL chairman Irvin Khoza announced the inception the MDC Shield, which will group all 16 clubs into four regional pools – Central, Coastal West, Coastal East and Northern.
The inaugural tournament will start on April 7 and conclude on May 5.
“In a cup competition you cannot say you are developing but you play to win. This cup will create a winning mentality among teams. I expect it to intensify the level of competition in the MDC,” Notoane said.
Celtic are still licking their wounds after narrowly missing out on the MDC title to Golden Arrows.
“This cup gives us a chance to make up for finishing second. We will go all out to win it... We have a big squad and some players did not play many games in the MDC league but now they will see more action,” said Legetla.
Celtic are drawn in the Coastal West pool alongside Cape Town City, Ajax Cape Town and Free State Stars while Sundowns are pitted against Polokwane City, Baroka and SuperSport United in the Northern pool.
Central region has Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates, Bidvest Wits and Platinum Stars whereas, Arrows, AmaZulu, Maritzburg United and Chippa United will battle it out in the Coastal East group.
In the first round, clubs will play each other once and the club with the most points from each group will progress to the semifinals.