When you have four teams who are now doing well, everything is possible, therefore I don’t believe this was ever going to be an easy draw for anybody. Manqoba Mngqithi, the coach.
Mamelodi Sundowns, the reigning champions, will play Soweto rivals Orlando Pirates in the first leg of the MTN8 semi-finals, it was announced at Monday evening’s Premier Soccer League draw. The Brazilians will travel south of Johannesburg to Esigodini sikaMaminzela in the first round to resume their defense of the Wafa Wafa Cup. The semi-finals are made up of two legs with a home and away match.
Masandawana received compensation for their valiant 2-0 victory against SuperSport United in the Tshwane derby over the weekend; goals from Marcello Allende and Abubeker Nasir guaranteed Downs advancement to the next round of the league. However, the Buccaneers, who last won the trophy in 2020 after defeating Bloemfontein Celtic in the championship game, defeated Royal AM 2-1 the previous night in Durban.
“I don’t believe this was ever going to be an easy draw for anybody; when you have four clubs who are now doing well, everything is possible.” We might have gotten AmaZulu or Kaizer Chiefs, and both of them are now doing well. We simply need to accept whatever we receive and have faith in our procedure and personnel. Manqoba Mngqithi, the coach of Masandawana, made the statement after knowing of his semi-final opponents.
The Tshwane Giants finally won the Cup last season after more than a decade of trying, defeating Cape Town City in the final, Golden Arrows in the semifinal, and Kaizer Chiefs in the quarters. Coach Manqoba is convinced that Bafana Ba Style can defend the Wafa Wafa Cup after his team won the match 3-2 in a dramatic shootout after the score was at 1-1 after extra time.
“We believe that our squad is capable of protecting our trophy, and we will do so with all due respect. We will give it our best effort, but of course we can never take anybody in this competition for granted, particularly this season when everyone is working so very hard to prove that they are ready.
The first leg of the semifinals will take place on the first weekend in October, with the second leg scheduled for the weekend of October 22.
Coach Manqoba’s response to the MTN8 tie with the Buccaneers originally appeared on Mamelodi Sundowns | Official Website.