“League Double Means Nothing”: Pitso’s Psychological Tactic For The Ke Yona Final
Durban City coach Pitso Dladla has emphasised the importance of approaching their upcoming Nedbank Cup final with a completely fresh mindset, despite his side’s dominant record against TS Galaxy in the league this season.
City and Galaxy are set to face off this Saturday at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium in what promises to be a thrilling final, with the Citizens carrying confidence after completing a league double over the Rockets.
In their first meeting—also the opening league fixture for both teams—Durban City secured a convincing 2–0 away victory. Earlier this year, they repeated the same scoreline at home, once again beating Galaxy 2–0 to make it six points from six across the two league encounters.
However, Dladla is adamant that those results will have little bearing on the outcome of a cup final, stressing that knockout football presents a completely different challenge.
“For us, we don’t want to focus too much on the league games we played against them,” he said.
“I think a cup final is different from a league match; it is often decided by key moments.
“It is a different game, so we are not going to read too much into those results because we want to approach this match differently, which is what we are doing at the moment.”
As anticipation builds for the clash, Dladla also highlighted the contribution of veteran goalkeeper Darren Keet, who has been instrumental in Durban City’s run to the final.
Keet has kept three clean sheets in the tournament and played a decisive role in penalty shootouts, saving four spot-kicks across the round of 32, round of 16, and quarter-final stages.
“Since you’ve singled him out, I’ll comment on him, but honestly, different players have fulfilled their roles in different games,” Dladla added.
“Everyone has contributed, but Darren stands out because of the saves he has made, the penalties he has stopped, and the clean sheets he has kept—even over 120 minutes, including in the shootout against Upington City.
“I think he is a strong candidate for Player of the Tournament. But as I said, this is a collective effort, as all the players have contributed.”
With both teams eyeing silverware, Durban City will look to balance confidence from past victories with the focused, moment-driven approach their coach believes is crucial for cup final success.
Galaxy, meanwhile, will be aiming to build on their Nedbank Cup triumph in 2019, when they defeated Kaizer Chiefs while still competing in the Motsepe Foundation Championship.
