Durban City Receives Major Injury Boost As Defensive Stars Return For Nedbank Cup Final

Durban City assistant coach Ashraf Hendricks is delighted that his side will have their entire back four available again following suspensions and injuries ahead of the Nedbank Cup final against TS Galaxy.

City will be boosted by the return of captain Sphamandla Ncanana, Mfanafuthi Mkhize, Fezile Gcaba and Terrence Mashego in defence.

All four have missed matches for various reasons during a recent four-game stretch in which the team failed to register a win.

Mashego was unavailable against Mamelodi Sundowns due to a clause in his loan agreement that prevented him from facing his parent club.

Mkhize, who has formed a strong partnership with Ncanana at the heart of the defence, recently returned from a rib injury he suffered against Casric Stars. He captained the side in their draw against Orbit College over the weekend.

Ncanana, meanwhile, missed that match through suspension but will be available for the Ke Yona Cup final against TS Galaxy at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday.

This means coach Pitso Dladla is likely to restore his preferred back four of Mashego, Ncanana, Mkhize and Gcaba, with the latter expected to slot into his usual right-back role, having also featured at centre-back and left-back.

“In this cup final, all the players will be back,” said Hendricks.

“You know how it is—no matter how injured you are, you always want to play. We are fortunate to have a good squad, even though it’s a small one.

“Our back four plays a pivotal role in what we do. If you look at our clean-sheet record over the last 26 games, it has been exceptionally good [keeping 14 clean sheets].

“We are blessed that everyone is back, and that is important. You want to have a full squad when you go into a match like Saturday.”

This marks the second time Durban City have reached the Ke Yona Cup final, having previously lost to Free State Stars at DHL Stadium in Cape Town during the 2017/18 season.

At the time, the club was known as Maritzburg United before being rebranded as Durban City at the start of last season.

Winning the Nedbank Cup comes with the added incentive of qualifying for the CAF Confederation Cup, alongside the team that finishes third in the league.

Hendricks says the club is eager to experience continental football.

“Obviously, that wasn’t initially one of the club’s objectives, but now it has become a real possibility,” he said.

“It’s something we want. At the end of the day, we want to be part of African competition. You’ve seen teams like Mamelodi Sundowns and Stellenbosch—we want to be there as well.

“Not just to participate, but to experience it, learn from it, and grow the club’s profile.”