A trip to struggling Free State Stars in the opening tie of the Telkom Knockout tomorrow seems easy pickings for a strong Bidvest Wits side, but the previous four matches between the two teams suggest the less fancied Ea Lla Koto have an advantage.
Gavin Hunt, the Wits coach who finally helped his men clinch a cup - the MTN8 earlier this month - for the first time since his arrival four seasons ago, would have no doubt preferred a more predictable opponent. He is even more concerned about an away game against a Stars outfit that is usually there for the taking, but often stubborn, because the Clever Boys have been idle after thrashing Mamelodi Sundowns 3-0 in their cup triumph.
“I don’t have to tell you, but we haven’t kicked a ball in three weeks as we’ve had games postponed and because of the international break,” said Hunt. “That’s a big factor for us. That is frustrating for me because you don’t really know what you are going to get because we are going from a cup final three weeks ago into another cup game and we have had nothing in between. It’s disturbing. And in saying that, we have to go play Free State Stars (laughs). Last year we played them four times, never beat them once, and we never scored a goal.”
It’s no exaggeration to say Wits have a hoodoo team in the Bethlehem-based side, who are usually more of a threat in their own backyard at Goble Park. They can take Hunt’s men on at any venue in the country, however, and still give them a hard time. What proves that Wits have no luck against Stars is evidenced in the fact that Ea Lla Koto aren’t typically that convincing in their very next fixture after derailing the Clever Boys.
“We lost 1-0 to them twice in cup games (last year’s edition of the Telkom Knockout and the Nedbank Cup) and in one of those competitions they went on to get thrashed 6-1 by Sundowns. They beat us but never get that far. It’s always confusing because we also feel we can put six past them, but lose by the odd goal. We know that every season we are going to finish the season at least 20 points ahead of them, but that is why cup games are so unpredictable,” Hunt said.
The coach, in a post-match interview following a goalless draw in the Absa Premiership against the same team, said Wits could have won by a cricket score. But that always begs the question: Then why are Stars so hard to beat? It’s also significant to note that Giovanni Solinas has returned to the dugout, the Italian replacing out-of-sorts Denis Lavagne after he quit at the end of last season for personal reasons. Lavagne, a Frenchman, lasted only three matches in the current campaign and had apparently lost the dressing room, while Solinas has been brought back because he was such a popular figure with management and players.
“If you look at their profile, they have no ambitions to win the league. All they are about is survival and for them any stage of the cup is a final. That’s what makes them dangerous,” Hunt explained.
“I would have been much happier if their new coach came in on a Wednesday and we were playing them on Saturday. But now he (Solinas) has had three weeks to get them where they were last season. To be fair, they have lost a lot of good players and we have a much better side. But we are going there (Bethlehem) and our record is not good, for whatever reason.”
The game kicks off at 3pm Saturday.
Follow Mazola Molefe on Twitter@superjourno
The Star