Facts on finals of tournament

Here are some Nedbank Cup facts ahead of the 2017 decider between SuperSport United and Orlando Pirates at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday. The final will be United coach Stuart Baxter’s last match in charge.

Only three different teams appeared in the final of the competition in the first seven years it was played. Pirates (six appearances)‚ Kaizer Chiefs (five)‚ Zulu Royals/AmaZulu (three) were the only sides to contest the final from 1971 to 1977.

Pirates are the second-most successful side in the competition after Chiefs (13 wins) with eight victories from 16 previous final appearances.

Baxter is the only tactician to win the cup twice since it came into its current incarnation in 2008 (with Chiefs in 2013 and SuperSport in 2016).

SuperSport United have won four of their previous six final appearances.

Eight teams have reached the competition’s final on one or more occasion and never lifted the trophy. They are AmaZulu (six appearances)‚ African

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Wanderers (two)‚ Black Leopards‚ Highlands Park‚ Manning Rangers‚ Mpumalanga Black Aces‚ Free State Stars and University of Pretoria (all one).

The biggest victory in the final came in 1989 when Moroka Swallows beat Mamelodi Sundowns 5-1 in a replay of the decider that year. The first game finished 1-1.

Many cup finals are tight affairs‚ but not when Pirates have competed in the decider over the last decade. Bucs’ three final appearances have had 13 goals scored after 3-1 wins over Black Leopards (2011) and Wits (2014)‚ and a 3-2 loss to SuperSport United in 2016.

Pirates won three finals in a row from 1973 to 1975.

At least one team from Soweto has contested 31 of the 44 finals that have been played since 1971.

Fifteen finals have gone to extra time‚ but only two in the last decade. The first was when Chiefs beat SuperSport 1-0 in 2013 and the second was in 2015 when Mamelodi Sundowns and Ajax Cape Town played to a 0-0 draw‚ with the Brazilians claiming the trophy 4-3 on penalties.

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