Pirates look part in bogey cup
Orlando Pirates should pack too much firepower for Baroka in Saturday’s Nedbank cup final but their inconsistency is a worry.
Baroka FC were not seen as much more than a flash in the pan when they burst onto the national scene some seven years ago as a third-tier side. That year they beat Kaizer Chiefs and Moroka Swallows to go further than any other amateur club in the Nedbank Cup, eventually falling on penalties at the semi-final stage.
It was then thought they would not be heard of again, but they proved that all wrong by winning two promotions in successive seasons to leap up to the Premier Soccer League and join the ranks of the top-flight clubs three seasons ago.
They battled to keep their newfound status in their first two league campaigns, but have grown stronger with each passing season and now find themselves in their first cup final, chasing the Telkom Knockout prize on Saturday.
Despite their cup giant-killing pedigree they will still be overwhelming underdogs against Orlando Pirates, whose expansive squad are finally delivering on the investment made in strengthening their playing and technical team ranks over the last season.
For coach Milutin Sredojevich, it is the first chance for silverware in his second season in charge. He took the club to the runners-up spot in the league last campaign, but did not bring home any trophies.
But the jury is still out on whether he is the miracle worker the club have been long searching for. Pirates remain markedly inconsistent as their league form and their overall cup record attests to. They last won silverware in 2014, when they lifted the Nedbank Cup, and while they lead the league, they were held at the weekend by lowly Maritzburg United.
It is this inconsistency that will give Baroka hope. The Polokwanebased club will be nervous, but cheeky enough to feel they can win Saturday’s final at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.
Pirates are odds-on favourites with Baroka at about 4-1. But the underdogs boast some key players who can make an impact. Not the least of these is appropriately named Talent Chawapiwa, the nippy Zimbabwe international winger who is a potential match winner with his skills.
Pirates are odds-on to take it and many TAB soccer pools’ players will count on them to win the Telkom Knockout for only the second time in their history. But it is a trophy that has proven a real bogey for them over the years with seven final defeats.