Supersport United seek to reclaim ‘Cup Kings’ crown

There was a time, not so long ago, when Supersport United struck fear into the hearts of all cup-tie opponents. They monopolised knockout tournaments in the early- to mid-2000s, winning a trophy almost every two years.

They didn’t just win either, they did it in style. The brand of football played under Pisto Mosimane and Gavin Hunt was top tier. In those days, even the country’s all-time cup specialists, Kaizer Chiefs, knew a cup encounter with Matsatsantsa a Pitori would probably see them come off second best.

In recent years Supersport have lost that aura of cup invincibility, though they did manage to win the Nedbank Cup back-to-back in 2016 and 2017, while also picking up the MTN 8 in 2017.

In 2019, under Kaitano Tembo, they again look a force to be reckoned with. They have just had a great win in the MTN 8, defeating Highlands Park 1-0 to win the trophy at Orlando Stadium two weeks ago. And they have played some eye-catching football all season, even if results haven’t always gone in their favour.

Striker Bradley Grobler is scoring goals for fun and, ever since leaving Orlando Pirates, Thamsanqa Gabuza is a man reborn under Tembo.

In the Telkom Knockout this weekend, Matsatsantsa tackle defending champions Baroka, who stunned Orlando Pirates 3-2 on penalties in last season’s final.

Baroka commence defence of their title in bad form, having only won one of their last five matches, with the rest being losses. One of those defeats came at the hands of Supersport, a 2-0 humbling at the end of August.

So, it’s safe to say the psychological advantage will be with the Pretoria side as they clash again.

Tembo will be hoping his charges go all the way and he can rebuild Supersport’s reputation, not just as cup specialists, but as feared adversaries.

As far as enthralling TKO fixtures go, it won’t get better than Kaizer Chiefs versus Cape Town City this weekend.

The Capetonians are not having their best season, but are always tricky opponents. Chiefs on the other hand have been the team to beat this season and are oozing confidence.

However, there’s that little matter of form not being a great influencer of results in cup competitions. Expect this to be the tie of the weekend.

The other giants from Soweto, Orlando Pirates, take on new boys Stellenbosch at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.

Nothing has gone right for the Buccaneers this season. Their faithful will hope the international interval has exorcised demons that have been plaguing them.

Mamelodi Sundowns host AmaZulu at Lucas Moripe Stadium.

At a recent press conference, Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane hinted that his team’s energy was not necessarily invested in local cup competitions.

“Cups are always a problem because we run a different programme. We want to win the league and the CAF Champions League as priority, but we want to win one local cup for the fans,” declared Mosimane.

But Mosimane is a serial winner – and so are Sundowns – so it is highly unlikely they will take it easy on Usuthu come Sunday afternoon.

Other fixtures to look forward this weekend include Maritzburg United versus Bidvest Wits (Friday night), Golden Arrows versus Polokwane City, and Highlands Park versus Black Leopards.

Chippa United, who have a new coach, take on Bloemfontein Celtic on Tuesday night. DM