Nothing can stop us now, says Sibiya
IN THE aftermath of a high-octane Telkom Knockout triumph, SuperSport United boss Khulu Sibiya has predicted Matsatsantsa a Pitori will be unstoppable in the months ahead.
Sibiya watched anxiously as SuperSport United beat Platinum Stars 3-2 in one of the most intriguing and nerve-racking finals at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto on Saturday.
After the champagne was popped and wild celebrations subsided, Sibiya described SuperSport’s winning of the Telkom Knockout as the sweetest he can remember.
“I am over the moon. This win to me is the best ever. This is a big boost for us. After this victory, nothing is going to stop us because the coach has told me that if only I can win this one nothing is going to stop me from winning anything else,” said Sibiya.
“I have never been so happy. I have won trophies with this team but this to me is the sweetest victory. It’s the first time that we have won it. We have won all other trophies. This is the sweetest of them all.”
SuperSport were deserved winners in a final that had many on the edge of their seats.
Stars opened the scoring with Robert Ngambi but Clayton Daniels equalised from the spot kick before converting another penalty. Magokolodi Ngele pulled one back for Stars. Then there was drama when Stars were awarded a penalty in extra-time as Eleazar Rodgers’ spot kick was saved by Ronwen Williams. At 2-2, there needed to be a hero and Thuso Phala emerged to score the winning goal with a beautiful strike.
Sibiya was impressed by how Igesund, who he appointed as coach in September, rallied his troops and how the four-time title-winning coach has turned things around at United since taking over from Cavin Johnson.
“Gordon has come in and he has put in a new dimension, which is professionalism and that is something I strongly believe in.
“Professionalism is the key if you want to be a successful team and this is what Gordon has given me,” said Sibiya.
Igesund, who had a gold medal on his neck, paid tribute to his players saying their adaptation to his methods was behind the victory.
“When I came in I had to make a few changes obviously because every coach wants his own style of football. I wanted to play a lot more offensive football. I have got a lot of good attacking players that want to go forward with a lot of pace and speed. I want us to keep the ball a lot more and wait for the right moment to attack and we did that,” said Igesund.
“The most important thing is to credit the players for responding so quickly. They have been magnificent and responded. They have executed well every game and they have done that extremely well.”
For Igesund, victory was sweet especially after the manner in which he was dumped by Safa, who did not renew his contract as the man in charge of Bafana Bafana. One of the key moments in the game was when Williams saved the penalty. It was Igesund’s mastery that led to the Williams’ double save.
“I told Ronwen to look at me before the penalty is taken and I’ll see who is taking it and I’ll tell you what to do. I told him to go to his right because that’s where Rodgers take his penalties. Players deserve the credit because they work very hard to change things around. They were magnificent,” said the coach who romped to his third Cup triumph.
As Igesund left the Orlando Stadium in high spirits, his counterpart Allan Freese went home confused, conquered and contemplative.
His future is now up in the air. His first job is now to get Stars away from the relegation zone, where they sit third from bottom with a total of 11 points.
For their efforts SuperSport walked away with the R4,2 million winning cheque. Sibiya revealed that the club’s players will cash in on the spoils. “I don’t want money – I just need the trophy. The players are going to smile all the way to the bank. This is a good Christmas for my players. They must go on holiday and enjoy it.”