It’s last chance saloon for Cape Town City

Pitso Mosimane avoided his usual no-holds-barred approach in favour of being coy when reflecting on Mamelodi Sundowns’ chances of going all the way in the Nedbank Cup.

The Brazilians are away to Benni McCarthy’s Cape Town City on Sunday at the Cape Town Stadium and City and Downs have created quite a rivalry since the Cape club’s inception last season. City are the only team in recent years to have managed a league double over Masandawana, which they did last season.

“They are all important,” said Mosimane, referring to games in the Caf Champions League, the Absa Premiership and the Nedbank Cup.

“The Nedbank Cup is not an easy one, it is not easy in Cape Town.”

But City midfielder Thabo Nodada was not shy to tell Phakaaathi about his side’s ambition to win the Cup.

“It is our last hope for a trophy this season and we need to continue improving Cape Town City’s goals,” he said.

The 22-year-old said he and his teammates, together with McCarthy, have not yet got into the finer details of how to plot victory against the Brazilians.

“We haven’t really dealt with the issue that we are playing Sundowns.

“We have been training normally but, going into the week, we will see how we prepare for them.”

Winning the Cup would give City entry to the Caf Confederation Cup next season – a competition they recently got knocked out of by Mozambican side Costa do Sol.

“That short stint that we played was a good experience for us before bowing out, and we want to go back.”

A third-place finish in the league would set Cape Town City up for continental football next season.