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24 January 2020
The 2019 Nedbank Cup saw an unprecedented four giant-killing acts in the Last 32 as teams from outside the Premier League ousted top-flight clubs from the competition, writing their own piece of history and winning national acclaim.
It was the most instances of Premier League sides losing to teams in the divisions below since Nedbank started their sponsorship of the competition, beating the three from 2013, and came after there had been none at all in 2018. The way the draw has panned out in 2020, there will only be six ties where Premier League teams face sides from outside the top-flight, giving scant opportunity to better last year’s number of upsets.
Last year’s upsets were started by second-tier Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila, who rallied from a goal down to defeat Limpopo rivals Polokwane City 2-1. Richards Bay then upset Nedbank Cup champions Free State Stars with a victory by the same scoreline, before Jomo Cosmos edged Baroka FC, themselves previous giant-killers, with a 1-0 win.
Maritzburg United also exited in the Last 32 when they were held to a 2-2 draw by then second-tier Witbank Spurs, and lost the shoot-out 5-4. It means that over the last 12 years there have been 16 instances of giant-killing acts in which lower league teams have got the better of clubs from the elite league. And 12 of those instances have happened in the last seven seasons, triple the number in the previous five, suggesting the gap is closing between Premier League teams and the rest.
The year with the second most number of upsets was 2013, which included perhaps the greatest of them all as Free State ABC Motsepe League side Maluti FET College thumped Orlando Pirates 4-1. It is hard to find a bigger upset in the history of South African football, with Maluti even missing a penalty in that game that could have made the scoreline worse. Second-tier side United FC also claimed a 3-2 win over Chippa United that year, while AmaZulu were beaten by third-tier Tembu Royals.
There have been just two other years where there were multiple upsets in the Last 32. In 2008, second-tier Ikapa Sporting beat Bloemfontein Celtic 3-2 in a thrilling cup tie, while fellow NFD side Mpumalanga Black Aces beat Thanda Royal Zulu 2-0 on their way to making it to the final. AmaZayoni were beaten 1-0 by Mamelodi Sundowns in the decider. There were also two upsets in 2017, as Cape Town City lost 1-0 at Mpumalanga ABC Motsepe League club Acornbush United, and Ajax Cape Town were edged on penalties by third-tier KwaDukuza United after a 2-2 draw.
Then second-tier side Black Leopards beat AmaZulu 1-0 in 2009, while Free State Stars were edged by the same scoreline by second-tier Witbank Spurs in 2014. Chippa United have fallen to third-tier opposition twice at the Last 32 stage, first beaten on penalties by KwaZulu-Natal ABC Motsepe League side Natal United after a 0-0 draw in 2015, and then the following year edged 3-2 by then second-tier Baroka FC before their promotion to the top-flight.
Finally, North West ABC Motsepe League club ALS Puk Tuwana caused a major upset when they ousted provincial rivals Platinum Stars 3-2 in the Last 32 in 2010. There have been only three years where no giant-killing acts took place in the first stage ¬ namely 2011, 2012 and 2018.
VICTORIES FOR LOWER LEAGUE SIDES IN THE NEDBANK CUP LAST 32
2008
Ikapa Sporting 3-2 Bloemfontein Celtic Mpumalanga Black Aces 2-0 Thanda Royal Zulu
2009
Black Leopards 1-0 AmaZulu
2010
Platinum Stars 2-3 Als Puk Tawana
2011
None
2012
None
2013
Maluti FET College 4-1 Orlando Pirates United FC 3-2 Chippa United AmaZulu 1-2 Tembu Royals
2014
Free State Stars 0-1 Witbank Spurs 2015 Chippa United 0-0 Natal United (aet; United won 4-2 on pens)
2016
Chippa United 2-3 Baroka
2017
Acornbush United 1-0 Cape Town City Kwadukuza United 2-2 Ajax Cape Town (aet; United won 4-3 on pens)
2018
None
2019
Polokwane City 1-2 Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila Free State Stars 1-2 Richards Bay Witbank Spurs 2-2 Maritzburg United (aet; Spurs won 5-4 on pens) Baroka 0-1 Jomo Cosmos
*The views represented are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent those of Nedbank.