AmaZulu, Pirates promise a knockout
THE TELKOM Knockout quarter-final tie between AmaZulu and Orlando Pirates at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban tomorrow has a barrage of scores to settle.
The cup match kicks off at 6pm. The build-up for what promises to be a mouthwatering clash has been nothing short of drama, from AmaZulu being compelled to stage their home match at Moses Mabhida instead of their preferred King Zwelithini Stadium to Thembela Sikhakhane promising to stop the Buccaneers main man, Vincent Pule.
Coach at AmaZulu, Cavin Johnson, will be facing his student, Rhulani Mokwena, while Marc van Heerden will be up against his former employers. Mbongeni Gumede, who is now the skipper at Usuthu, spent most of his development days playing for the Soweto giants.
It doesn’t end there as another battle in this titanic clash will be between the sticks where Siyabonga Mpontshane of Pirates is likely to face Siyabonga Mbatha of AmaZulu.
Beside the coincidence of the pair sharing the same name (Siyabonga) both are born and bred in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). Mpontshane is from Ngwavuma while Mbatha is from Umlazi.
Who will rise to the occasion and reign supreme in the battle of KZN goal-minders? Both men downplayed the question as they chose to focus on helping their teams advance to the next stage of the competition.
Mbatha explained: “It doesn’t matter which province or the country the man between the sticks is from. As long as the team gets the victory. We are doing it for the team, not for individuals. We have to make sure that we do well and win the game.”
Mpontshane is expecting a very invigorated and determined Mbatha.
“This is a huge game for Mbatha. I remember when I was at Platinum Stars, whenever we played Kaizer Chiefs or Pirates I was always pumped up ahead of the day. You don’t need an extra motivation. They are facing a big team in us but we won’t take AmaZulu lightly. We can’t afford to think about our victory in the Soweto derby. We have to put that victory behind us and focus on this game,” Mpontshane explained.
The duo will be key for both sides as the game might be settled on penalties if they are still deadlocked after 120 minutes. Mbatha is targeting the final.
“It can mean a lot to us if we can reach the final. We would love to win it and make our supporters happy. We are not doing well away from home but we have shown that we are doing the job at home. So, our game against Pirates this weekend is the must-win for us.
“Obviously we were affected by moving to Moses Mabhida. King Zwelithini is the venue where we are comfortable. We are not used to Mabhida. It’s more like an away game for us. But at the end of the day if we are still in South Africa we are still home,” Mbatha explained.
Usuthu haven’t won a cup in 26 years while Pirates are also looking to end their four-year trophy drought.
“This is a very important cup for us. The club hasn’t won anything in a while. We are playing good football but we need to back that with a silverware this season. We don’t want to be remembered as the team that played good football but didn’t win anything. We are playing as a unit and no one is bigger than another and that’s why we are doing well,” Mpontshane said. BOKANG TLHONE was delighted last season with Wits as they lifted the Telkom Knockout crown at the expense of Bloemfontein Celtic at the Princess Magogo Stadium and the now-Maritzburg United fullback is facing a difficult endeavour of stopping the defending champions.
The Team of Choice will lock horns against the defending Telkom Knockout champions, Wits, tomorrow in a quarter-final tie at the Harry Gwala Stadium in Pietermaritzburg.
The impeccable Wits side is oozing with confidence and gunning for history in this year’s competition. They want to be the second team in the history of the competition to defend their crown.
Kaizer Chiefs are the only side to achieve this feat. Tlhone is eager to end Wits’ dream, but he understands that it won’t be easy.
“It is going to be a different ball game because this is a knockout competition. If we beat Wits it will be a great stepping stone towards reaching the final and changing our season. We know the feeling of being in a Cup final and we want to make a second (in two seasons) and win it this time around. It won’t be easy against the defending champions. They will come out guns blazing but we want to beat them,” Tlhone said as he takes aim at his former team.
Tlhone joined the Team of Choice in January. Maritzburg excelled last season as they went all the way to the final of the Nedbank Cup only to be stunned by Free State Stars at the last hurdle in Cape Town.
Tlhone won’t be going out there to prove his worth against his former employers, though.
“No, I don’t have anything to prove. I enjoyed my short stay with Wits. I reached my first Cup final (in top-flight football). I left on good terms, so, I don’t have anything to prove,” he said.