Zwane On Chiefs, Pirates And Sundowns Out Of The Nedbank Cup

AmaZulu coach Arthur Zwane says the Nedbank Cup truly lives up to its reputation as the “Cup of Dreams”, especially with South Africa’s traditional giants already eliminated from the competition.

Defending champions Kaizer Chiefs were knocked out in the opening round by Stellenbosch FC, while Orlando Pirates followed them out of the tournament after losing to Casric Stars on penalties to a Motsepe Foundation Championship side in the round of 16.

Mamelodi Sundowns, who last lifted the trophy in 2022, were also eliminated after suffering a shock defeat to TS Galaxy.

AmaZulu will now face giant killers Casric Stars in the Nedbank Cup quarter-final at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday (15:00), with Usuthu under pressure to secure a place in the semi-finals.

The Durban-based side last reached the final of this competition in 2010, when they lost to Bidvest Wits in the first final played at FNB Stadium.

Zwane was nearing the end of his playing career at that time, having previously won the tournament with Kaizer Chiefs in 2006 when they defeated Orlando Pirates in the final. The competition was then known as the Absa Cup.

The former Chiefs winger admitted that the early exits of the traditional “big three” present a rare opportunity for other teams to make history.

“That is where the problem starts,” said Zwane during the Nedbank Cup press conference on Friday.

“The history of this cup is why they call it the Cup of Dreams — anyone can win it.

“It’s not about who we are playing against; that is what I told the players. I gave them an example from our game against Magesi in the league two days ago, if I’m not mistaken.

“Most people probably thought we would get maximum points because if you look at the log and see where Magesi are [at the bottom] and where we are, it looks like an easy game. But it was not.

“We were playing against a team fighting for its life. Every point means a lot to them, and you could see when the referee blew the final whistle they celebrated as if they had won the match.

“For them, that point was important. Yes, we could have done better and we didn’t capitalise on our chances. We were not as sharp as we would have liked, and we were also trying to manage the players.

“We always say we want to compete and win trophies, and here is an opportunity for us. We will have to give it our all.”