Chiefs determined to end trophy dry run

Amakhosi will travel to Port Elizabeth to face the ABC Motsepe League outfit Magic FC. Photo: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix

Amakhosi will travel to Port Elizabeth to face the ABC Motsepe League outfit Magic FC. Photo: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix

Published Feb 14, 2019

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DURBAN – Kaizer Chiefs must guard against complacency when they lock horns with amateur club Magic FC in the last 16 of the Nedbank Cup at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Sunday at 3.30pm.

Amakhosi will travel to Port Elizabeth to face the ABC Motsepe League outfit as they continue with their quest of ending their four-year trophy drought.

Chiefs haven’t won a trophy since the 2014/15 season.

Amakhosi have already missed out on the MTN8 and the Telkom Knockout cup competitions this season. They don’t look like a team that have the muscle to dethrone Bidvest Wits at the summit of the Absa Premiership table.

Their last hope of ending their trophy barren run is the Nedbank Cup.

Chiefs might have been favoured by the draw but they can’t rest on their laurels when they visit Magic as they have choked before against the minnows.

 Baroka stunned the football fraternity in 2011 when they shot down Chiefs 2-1 to reach the semi-finals of the Nedbank Cup.

Bakgaga were still plying their trade in the Vodacom League (now known as ABC Motsepe League) when they defeated Chiefs 2-1. That is one of the most memorable results in the history of the Nedbank Cup.

Ernst Middendorp's last silverware was when he was still with the Glamour Boys in his first spell. Photo: Samuel Shivambu /BackpagePix

In 2010 Chiefs were also upset by the National First Division outfit, FC Cape Town. They were humbled 2-0 in the last 16.

Pretoria University is another side that sent Chiefs out of the Nedbank Cup unexpectedly. Tuks dispatched Chiefs 4-3 to reach the quarterfinals of the country’s premier knockout competition.

Chiefs have to work diligently to book a place in the last eight of the competition.

Amakhosi struggled at the first hurdle against the minnows. They needed extra time to beat Tornado FC as they laboured to a 1-0 win courtesy of an own goal.

Magic will hope to enter the history books by upsetting Chiefs and reaching the quarterfinals. They swept aside National First Division outfit Maccabi FC 5-4 on penalties after a 0-0 stalemate over 120 minutes.

Chiefs are the most successful team in the history of the Nedbank Cup but they haven’t lifted the trophy since 2013 when they defeated SuperSport United 1-0 at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. They will look for their 14th trophy.

The Soweto giants’ coach, Ernst Middendorp, will also end his 13 years without a trophy in South Africa if the Amakhosi lift the silverware.

His last silverware was when he was still with the Glamour Boys in his first spell, winning the SAA Supa 8 and the Absa Cup.

@Minenhlecr7

The Mercury

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