Nedbank Cup still a priority for Wits

Bidvest Wits coach Gavin Hunt says his side's packed schedule is expected and welcomed. Photo: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix

Bidvest Wits coach Gavin Hunt says his side's packed schedule is expected and welcomed. Photo: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix

Published Mar 15, 2017

Share

JOHANNESBURG - Just as well that Bidvest Wits have depth. Wednesday night's line-up away to National First Division side Cape Town All Stars in the last 32 of the Nedbank Cup will be as much about rest as it is about winning.

When you’ve travelled to East London, Joburg, Egypt, back to Joburg again and then Cape Town in one week, to say you are exhausted is an understatement. But that is the hand the Clever Boys have been dealt and the show must go on.

“We don’t mind,” says Wits coach Gavin Hunt.

“This club wants to reach the next level and this is part of it. Who would have thought we would be in Cairo playing a massive club like Al Ahly in the Champions League? We must play. We said we want to play.”

That’s the right attitude. Hunt and his men have been living out of a suitcase the last couple of days, and they will get a full report card on how well they fared in their sojourn by Sunday afternoon when the final whistle is blown for their second leg CAF Champions League first round tie at home against Al Ahly, the eight-time champions who narrowly beat them 1-0 at the National Stadium in Cairo on Saturday night.

On Wednesday, though, Hunt focuses on a trophy that has eluded him since stepping up to the winners’ podium to receive a Nedbank Cup medal with previous club SuperSport United in 2012.

“We want to do well in everything, especially here at home,” the coach explained. 

He’s harped on about wanting to dominate

domestic football before the Clever Boys can go on to emulate Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns in winning continental titles, but hosting Al Ahly on Sunday, with a very good chance of progressing to the group stages given the deficit is only 1-0, has almost made Cape Town All Stars an afterthought.

“I said after the match in Cairo that if I was their coach I would be massively disappointed. Not to say we were there for the taking, but it was a hostile environment and they would have wanted to take advantage of that and score more than just one goal,” says Hunt,

reflecting on last Saturday’s match.

“We are in Cape Town now and it is a bit different preparing to play on the back of our travelling schedule the last week. Yes, they are struggling in the NFD, but because we are going to change things around it means their form doesn’t really matter. But we want to win. It is important for us to stay in all the competitions we are in this season.”

Another slight distraction ahead of the cup tie is that Wits captain Thulani Hlatshwayo has been ruled out of Sunday’s encounter with a physical Al Ahly side because of suspension.

“It was unbelievable. He basically got booked in the tunnel - for time wasting,” says a frustrated Hunt, driving home the point that he felt Hlatshwayo’s yellow card in the 16th minute was way too early and quite harsh by Morocco referee Redouane Jiyed.

“So now I have to play someone else at centreback in the cup match to prepare them for Sunday.”

The Star

Related Topics: