Telkom Knockout minus Dikgacoi
GOLDEN Arrows will field their strongest team in the Telkom Knockout at Orlando Pirates this weekend but that line-up won’t include former Bafana Bafana midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi.
At least not on Sunday. Negotiations for Arrows to sign their former player after he returned from a spell in England are at an advanced stage, and the talks are promising.
That’s according to Arrows chief executive Gordon Masondo, who made it clear the holding midfielder was not yet an Arrows player.
“Reports that he has signed are incorrect. ‘KG’ is still training here but we are in talks to sign him. All going to plan he will be our player very soon, but definitely not for this weekend,” said Masondo.
Dikgacoi, who left Arrows in 2009 and featured for Fulham, Crystal Palace and Cardiff City in England, has been training with Arrows for almost a month since his return home.
His presence would give Arrows significant midfield muscle and all round experience, and fast-track the team’s growth.
Although they are surprise league pace-setters with Kaizer Chiefs, the Durban side are “very far from the finished product”, according to coach Clinton Larsen, and cannot afford to take Pirates’ struggles lightly.
The Soweto giants are slow in adapting to new coach Muhsin Ertugral’s approach. They drew their last three league games, and were fortunate not to lose to Polokwane City in their last outing, where striker Tendai Ndoro scored the equaliser in the final seconds.
Leading scorer Ndoro is nursing a slight injury, as is fellow forward Thabiso Kutumela, but still Larsen expressed caution.
“Pirates can turn in a big performance at any time. Look at how (Kaizer) Chiefs have turned it around. They may not be at their best but they’re still dangerous. Also we can’t focus on one player like Ndoro; we have to take care of Pirates holistically,” said the former Bucs midfielder.
Although Bucs are battling, they boast game winners in Thabo Rakhale, Thabo Matlaba and newcomer Bernard Morrison. Larsen would rather have Pirates worry about his men. They have niggles too, with defender Lehlohonolo Nonyane set to return from injury and striker Lerato Lamola ruled out. However, in aiming to take the game to Pirates, he can call on Zimbabwean winger Kudakwashe Mahachi and Colombian hit man Mauricio Barrios.
Scoring first to unsettle Pirates will be key in their battle plan, and it helps that Mahachi returned from an arm fracture to play in Arrows’ Diski Challenge match last week, and that Barrios debuted in the league win against Chippa United.
It proves to be an open affair, because unlike a league game where a team can adopt a cagey approach, there’s only one shot at a cup. It’s therefore better to go for a win than risk stretching a game to extra time and the lottery of a penalty shoot-out, reasoned Larsen.
The rewards are worth it. Win one match and a club is guaranteed R400 000. Reach the semis and the prize is R750 000. Victory in a mere four cup games will earn the club R4 million and silverware.
Maritzburg will adopt a similar mentality, when they visit the other Soweto giants, Chiefs, tomorrow.
Like Arrows, the Team of Choice will have revenge for their league defeat as a source of extra motivation.