It’s David vs Goliath as Maritzburg take on Sundowns in Telkom Cup
Maritzburg United face high-flying Mamelodi Sundowns in cup final
Mamelodi Sundowns and Maritzburg United will battle for the honour of being crowned 2019 Telkom Knockout champions when they meet at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday. (Kickoff at 6pm).
Sundowns have so far overcome AmaZulu (5-0 at home), Chippa United (2-2 draw away, 4-3 winners on penalties) and Golden Arrows (2-1 away) en route to the TKO final.
The Brazilians are three-time champions in the Telkom Knockout, with their most recent triumph arriving in 2015.
In 2018 they suffered a surprise defeat in the quarterfinals at the hands of eventual competition winners Baroka FC.
Maritzburg, meanwhile, will be appearing in their first TKO final.
The Team of Choice’s path to this point has seen them beat both Bidvest Wits and Highlands Park on penalties (after 11 home draws against each team) before ousting “Cup Kings” Kaizer Chiefs 2-1 in the semifinals, thanks to a brace from Judas Moseamedi.
Both teams come into the match in winning form.
Sundowns were in action just this midweek, claiming a comefrom-behind 3-1 win over Stellenbosch in a league clash on Wednesday, with goals from Themba Zwane, Sphelele Mkhulise and Keletso Makgalwa.
Maritzburg, meanwhile, will have the advantage of three extra days of rest and preparation leading into the final.
Their last outing brought a 1-0 away win at Polokwane City in a league clash on Sunday, with Yusuf Jappie scoring the decisive goal for the KwaZulu-Natal outfit.
In head-to-head stats, Sundowns and Maritzburg have met in five previous cup meetings.
The Team of Choice have claimed three outright wins compared with two for the Brazilians.
The KwaZulu-Natal club were victorious when the teams last met in a knockout match, the semifinals of the 2018 Nedbank Cup, as they claimed a 3-1 triumph.
Overall, the teams have met in 32 league and cup matches since 2005-06 and Downs have dominated the rivalry, claiming 20 wins compared with six for United.
The Brazilians were on the winning side when the teams last met, in an Absa Premiership clash at Lucas Moripe Stadium back in September, with goals from Gaston Sirino and Lyle Lakay for the hosts, while the visitors struck through Siyanda Xulu.
Maritzburg coach Eric Tinkler says his side had achieved nothing yet as they prepared for the final.
The Team of Choice has been rock solid in reaching the decider, as they were when they appeared in their first ever knockout final against Free State Stars in the 2018 Nedbank Cup, but ended up losing 1-0.
Tinkler, who won the Telkom trophy with Cape Town City in
Mamelodi Sundowns will bring out the heavy artillery for the Telkom Knockout final, with Gaston Sirino set to make his return for the clash.
Sirino makes a return from suspension after missing the league clash against Stellenbosch in midweek. He will be closely watched by Maritzburg’s solid defender Rushine de Reuck.
Sirono’s return, plus that of Themba Zwane and Mauricio Affonso, means Downs coach Pitso Mosimane will have a full complement to choose from for the final against Maritzburg United at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday.
Kickoff is 6pm.
“You always like to have a Sirino on the pitch. The same with the other top players.
Now I have a problem [deciding who plays], so I will go with the team that I feel is the best to do the job,” Mosimane said.
“The fixture change allowed Sirino to be available for the final, so we welcome it. We have almost a complete team that can play because most of the guys are available.”
Due to their loaded fixture schedule that includes the CAF Champions League, Downs will do the unusual of having one day to prepare for the final. Downs played Stellenbosch on Wednesday night (3-1 win) and used Thursday to recuperate.
This means they only had Friday to prepare properly for the Telkom Knockout final.
“That’s what happens when you play three competitions in seven days. There is no time to rest. This is the programme we are having, we are used to playing a game every three days,” he said.
“We need to win the cup, but you need to fight for it because Maritzburg want it and probably they want it more than us.”