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31 January 2020
Super Eagles will hope to make it third time lucky when they take on fellow ABC Motsepe League side c at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane on February 8. Eagles are appearing at this stage for the third time in a row, but on both previous occasions narrowly lost to top-flight teams from their home Free State province.
In 2018 they were desperately close to a famous victory over Free State Stars, who equalised in the 91st minute and went on to win 2-1 in extra-time. Stars would go on to lift the trophy that year, but they were given a mighty scare by Eagles, who were campaigning in the second-tier and saw their goal scored by former Nedbank Ke Yona Team graduate Bongani Mbuli.
They were relegated at the end of that season, but returned to the Nedbank Cup Last 32 in 2019 as an ABC Motsepe League side. On that occasion they were beaten 2-1 by Bloemfontein Celtic, again conceding a late goal to lose as Mpusana Tani scored for Celtic in the 88th minute.
"The team is pretty much the same as last year, so we have that experience and we are looking forward to advancing to the second round for the first time," says Eagles manager Sipho Mkwanazi. "We are fired up for Amavarara, having played two PSL teas before, I think we see this as a great opportunity to make the second round.
"That does not mean we underestimate Amavarara, we respect them, but we have come very close to winning against PSL teams in 2018 and 2019 and we must now show what we learnt from those games. We are confident, but not arrogant about our chances." Eagles have had a good season in the Free State ABC Motsepe League and on Tuesday recorded a fine 3-1 away victory over Mphatlalatsane United.
That leaves them in second place on the log with 13 wins, four draws and just a single defeat from their 18 matches to date. "It has been going well," Mkwanazi says, "Our only loss was back in November [1-4 vs Caledon United], but since then we have been winning most of our games and drawing just a few. So we have some form and we are confident."
*The views represented are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent those of Nedbank.