Chiefs look the part but Magic could scare them
AMAKHOSI HAVE LOST OFTEN TO LOWER-LEAGUE SIDES IN CUP
Kaizer Chiefs are overwhelming favourites to beat Western Cape ABC Motsepe League side The Magic at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Sunday, but they were given a scare by Tornado FC in the last round and nothing should be taken for granted.
This is especially so as no PSL side has lost more games to lower-league opposition over the last decade that the Soweto giants.
The AmaKhosi have been bundled out of the competition by teams in divisions below them on four occasions, including a famous win for then virtually unknown Baroka FC in 2011.
And three of those defeats have come at the second-round stage over the past 10 years.
The team were first shocked by University of Pretoria in the second round in 2009, when they were edged out 4-3 in a seven-goal thriller.
It was déjà vu for Chiefs the following year as they were beaten 2-0 at the same stage by now defunct FC Cape Town.
Then came what was at the time the biggest upset in South Africa football history as Baroka FC ousted Chiefs 2-1 in the 2011 quarter-finals, the first and only time they have lost to third-tier opposition.
Chiefs’ last loss to lower-league opposition came in 2015, when they lost 2-1 to second-tier Black Leopards.
It is a rather embarrassing recent record for the club who have won more cup titles than any other in South African football.
This year’s Nedbank Cup has already seen the elimination of the likes of Mamelodi Sundowns, Orlando Pirates and SuperSport United, and while The Magic are not fancied to slay Chiefs, there is every chance they could give them a scare.
But some TAB Soccer 6 players will opt not to count on a Chiefs’ win in their bets and they will also be aware that lower-league sides like Richards Bay and Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila could take out top-flight opposition in Nedbank Cup games this weekend. To take a bet, go to www.soccer6.co.za.