MTN8 semifinal showdown Tshwane’s derby delight
Mamelodi Sundowns meet neighbours SuperSport United in what should be an intriguing first leg of the MTN8 semifinal at the Lucas Moripe Stadium today
● That the Tshwane derby hardly ends in a draw no matter which competition involves SuperSport United and Mamelodi Sundowns, should be encouraging for today’s encounter in which a chance to win R8m in the final will be at stake.
A place in this year’s MTN8 final is what Pitso Mosimane’s Sundowns and Kaitano Tembo’s Matsatsantsa a Pitori will be fighting for, albeit the fight won’t necessarily end today because there’s a second leg of this match coming on September 17.
Still, a lot will depend on who emerges on top at the Lucas Moripe Stadium today in what is already looking like a final before the real one.
Buoyed by their 2-0 victory over SuperSport in a league tie on the opening day of the season, Sundowns could easily be viewed as favourites. But the form that Tembo’s team showed soon after that defeat, clearly indicates the past results will have no bearing on who takes the spoils today.
“We would need to manage the game, especially in the first leg where we don’t need to concede the goals because we are playing at home,” said Tembo, who is looking to book a third successive final for the club in this competition.
SuperSport won this cup with Eric Tinkler at the helm in 2017 beating Cape Town City, but Tembo’s team lost against the same City in last year’s final.
Today’s occasion is marked by the fact that both teams come to this tie in scintillating scoring form, with the Brazilians having scored 14 goals in seven (in all competitions), while SuperSport have scored nine in five.
Interestingly, SuperSport have Bradley Grobler in great shape having scored five of those goals, while Sundowns defender Mosa Lebusa is surprisingly leading with three as most of their goals have come from as many sources.
While Grobler has continued to show how good an attacker he is for SuperSport, what Sundowns cannot ignore are his partners up front, Thamsanqa Gabuza, Evans Rusike and Zambian Gampani Lungu, who has already scored a goal in his three appearances for Tembo’s team.
What will also encourage Tembo is the fact that his defence is not looking bad either, as they have only conceded one goal in four matches after their defeat to Sundowns.
An emphatic 3-0 win away to Bidvest Wits in the first round of the MTN8, where Gabuza headed in two fantastic goals, was another reminder of what Tembo’s team is capable of.
But in Sundowns, Tembo knows they’ll face the ultimate of tests as Mosimane guns for the only trophy he’s never won since joining the Brazilians in 2012.
Tembo prides himself on the structure and the spine of the team which he says is made up of skipper Dean Furman, defender Clayton Daniels, goalkeeper Ronwen Williams and Grobler.
“In terms of our structure we always knew that Bradley is a very important part because he’s got qualities that we look for. He’s one player we’re not going to let go.
“A fully fit Bradley is one of the top strikers in the country, he plays a huge role in our attacking structure.
“In each and every structure you need a spine and Dean, Clayton and Ronwen, that’s the spine of our structure. It’s easy for us to fit in the rest of the players because we’ve got a spine. That’s why sometimes we don’t really go out and sign players just for the sake of bringing in players because we know we’ve got a structure.”
The same though can be said of Mosimane’s team which is brimming with star quality that he sometimes struggles to accommodate all at the same time in his starting XI.
Veteran midfielder and skipper Hlompho Kekana and Ugandan goalie Denis Onyango form part of the nucleus of the Sundowns structure, with the likes of Themba Zwane, Gaston Sirino, Sibusiso Vilakazi and Lebohang Maboe providing the attacking impetus.
“It will be a difficult game. Our pressing has got to be very good because they’ve got very good individual players. We work as a team and that’s the foundation of our structure,” emphasised Tembo.
An intriguing encounter, unhindered by the past, is indeed in the offing.
A fully fit Bradley Grobler is one of the top strikers in SA Kaitano Tembo
SuperSport coach