The Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban will host the Nedbank Cup final between Soweto giants Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs on Saturday.
Image: Leon Lestrade, Independent Media
The Moses Mabhida Stadium has served double purposes for both Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates in recent years when it comes to cup competitions.
Chiefs lost their last cup final via the Nedbank Cup to TS Galaxy at the same venue in 2019, extending their barren run to 10 years. That was a high, as Galaxy became the first lower and second tier team to win the Ke Yona Cup at the expense of the most successful club in the competition.
Chiefs, for all their flaws, have won the country’s premier club football knockout competition 13 times.
They do, however, have good memories of the World Cup venue against their bitter-rivals recently – they beat Pirates in the Telkom Knockout quarter-final in 2019. But with Chiefs having not gone all the way to win the cup, they might want to just remember the memories of the MTN8 final in 2014 – the last trophy they won.
That was 11 years ago. As such, Pirates have created their own memories at the iconic, winning their last four MTN8 trophies there.
That all started in 2020 when they beat Bloemfontein Celtic in the final via goals from Deon Hotto and Thembinkosi Lorch which cancelled out Siphelele Lithuli’s strike. The coach then was Josef Zinnbauer, and Jose Riveiro took over the baton in the last three finals.
Monnapule Saleng scored the solo goal in the final against AmaZulu in 2021 before a penalty victory over Mamelodi Sundowns sealed their win in 2022.
It was this season that they etched their names in the books as they beat Stellenbosch 3-1 in the final, becoming the first team to win a three-peat in the competition.
The Bucs trailed in that match, but goals from Saleng, Tshegofatso Mabasa and Relebohile Mofokeng ensured that they were record breakers. And so, with the Nedbank Cup returning to the same venue, it could be anyone’s game – Chiefs have beaten Pirates there and the Bucs have made good memories recently.
The Sea Robbers will also be confident of the fact that they are the defending champions of the competitions, and that's why a three-peat is possible for them.
Pirates will also be on a high as they beat Chiefs 2-1 in the Betway Premiership derby on Saturday at FNB Stadium.
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