Money as motivation, revenge for league defeats, and the energy of new players provide a backdrop for Golden Arrows' and Maritzburg United’s Telkom Knockout clashes against the Soweto giants this weekend.
Chiefs versus Maritzburg headlines today’s three cup matches. The sides enjoy contrasting fortunes, which sets the stage for a massive upset if the Team of Choice bank a first win in six outings against Chiefs, who have won their past four matches without conceding a goal.
Whereas Chiefs have fired blanks in only one of their seven matches in all competitions, Maritzburg hit the target only twice in six appearances, with both goals coming from one player.
Throw in home advantage for the Amakhosi, against a Maritzburg outfit who have never won a top-flight cup prize, going only as far as the semi-finals in this tournament, and it makes for a lopsided battle, on paper at least.
It will require Maritzburg coach Ernst Middendorp to pull out a fool-proof battle plan and solve their scoring crisis if they want to advance to the quarter-final stage and pocket at least R400 000.
Besides midfielder Kurt Lentjies’ two goals, the German tactician must find a way to get striker Evans Rusike firing.
It helps somewhat that winger Deolin Mekoa returns from suspension and much-needed rest after a busy off-season at the Olympic Games.
A further boost is that Middendorp gave debuts to attacking midfielders Lebohang Maboe and Devon Saal in last weekend’s 1-1 league draw at Free State Stars. The newcomers are unknown quantities and Maritzburg will hope the air of mystery they bring to the attack will crack the Glamour Boys’ backline.
It will be an extra solid defence, with Erick Mathoho returning to the squad after missing Chiefs’ last outing because of a family funeral. However, Maritzburg got the better of Chiefs for large chunks of their 2-0 league defeat last month, when ‘Tower’ was part of the defence. They gave Chiefs a few scares, and with better finishing and some luck Maritzburg might even have won.
Tomorrow Arrows will also carry an element of revenge into their skirmish with Bucs in Orlando. Abafana Bes’thende succumbed 3-1 in an opening league defeat at Pirates, but have bounced back to remain unbeaten since then.
Sitting behind log leaders Chiefs on goal difference, Arrows are in brighter spirits than their hosts. Pirates have drawn their past three matches, which means the heat will be on coach Muhsin Ertugral. The fiery Turkish-German tactician may be able to handle the pressure, but if his charges melt, then Arrows could sneak a win.
It’s a different Arrows too compared with the one that started the season. Coach Clinton Larsen said: “We’re not the same team as the one which lost to Pirates. We made lots of errors in that match, worked on those areas and improved. We pride ourselves on our defensive organisation and work ethic.”
In addition to the positive vibe in camp, Arrows welcome back from injury Zimbabwean winger Kudakwashe Mahachi, while Colombian striker Mauricio Barrios is ready for his first start after he debuted as a substitute in last weekend’s 1-0 win over Chippa United.
Larsen, however, cautioned that Arrows were “still a work in progress” and that “a cup run will give the team an opportunity to better develop that understanding”.
In today’s other two fixtures, Free State Stars enjoy home advantage over Bidvest Wits in the afternoon, and tonight SuperSport United welcome Ajax Cape Town to Pretoria.
This is the second successive meeting between Wits and Free State in the opening round. Last season Free State emerged victorious.
Independent on Saturday