Who will be on the money in the TKO final?

Published Dec 9, 2016

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Cape Town - Two in-form teams in SuperSport United and Cape Town City invade Polokwane on Saturday night to hopefully produce a memorable Telkom Knockout final at the Peter Mokaba Stadium. 

We’ve asked former Kaizer Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns and Santos assistant coach Farouk Khan for his thoughts on what are likely to be key moments which will decide who walks away with the R4-million prize money.

“Yeye” factor

Khan believes Reneilwe Letsholonyane will again be the key link between defence and midfield as he’s done since arriving at the club this season. The ex-Chiefs man has been a revelation for Matsatsantsa, bringing another dimension to their game.

Reneilwe Letsholonyane

He can play as a box-to-box midfielder and can effectively join the attack, chipping in with a few vital goals. Stuart Baxter, the SuperSport coach, has also leveraged the fact that he’d worked with Yeye at Chiefs for three years, winning two championships during their time there.

Part of the reason the team suddenly concedes fewer goals compared to the previous season is credit to Letsholonyane and his partnership in the centre of the park with captain Dean Furman - a match made in heaven.

Manyama and Ngoma

partnership

This City duo is probably the deadliest striking partnership in the Premiership at the moment and Khan believes captain Lebogang Manyama and Aubrey Ngoma will give the opposition defence a torrid time. 

They have 10 goals and 12 assists between them in all competitions and don’t look like stopping. Khan thinks Manyama’s work rate and Ngoma’s pace on the flanks could be the decisive factor in City winning the game. 

LEADING BY EXAMPLE: City skipper Lebo Manyama

It was evident last season when Manyama was ruled out for the rest of the campaign after breaking three toes, Mpumalanga Black Aces (renamed after the franchise was sold in May) experienced a slump in form.

It is also a concern that should he get injured this season, the club will again struggle for goals, but he’s available to give SuperSport defenders sleepless nights on Saturday.

If SuperSport want to win the cup, they will have to police these two.

Quality all around

Firstly, these are two high calibre coaches going head-to-head, says Khan. He expects a tactical battle, with the first-half maybe a bit cagey and then picking up later. This game will be played in phases and could open up. 

Expect quick counter-attacks from both teams, who can do that quite well. 

City also have Roland Putsche and Matt Sim, two foreign imports who have adjusted quickly to life in the PSL and have made it easy for players like Manyama and Ngoma because they do the hard grafting in midfield, the donkey work if you like.

SuperSport will need striker Jeremy Brockie to recover from his injury to be a threat upfront. These are key individual battles to look out for as they will make the game come alive.

Cape Times

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