STELLENBOSCH FC head coach Sammy Troughton believes his charges are capable of getting the better of Kaizer Chiefs when the teams meet in the Nedbank Cup Last 32 round at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday (8.15pm).
The National First Division side will approach the match as underdogs, but it is a well known fact that anything can happen in Ke Yona cup matches.
In their last appearance in this competition in 2015 the Cape Town based club reached the semifinals, where they were knocked out 1-0 by Mamelodi Sundowns, who went on to clinch the trophy after defeating another CT club, Ajax Cape Town, in the final.
Troughton says they are expecting a tough encounter against the 2012-13 champions. Chiefs were booted out in the first round of competition last season, losing 2-0 to arch-rivals Orlando Pirates.
The former University of Pretoria mentor revealed that they would love to progress to the next round, but admitted Chiefs would be a hard nut to crack.
Said Troughton: “Chiefs are not at their best but we are not going to take them lightly. We have to be realistic – they have a pedigree when it comes to cup competitions, so this won’t be an easy match for us. But we are ready for them, we will give it our best.
“We are the underdogs and I like that because I know we could pull off a big upset. We all know that this competition always holds some big surprises. So there’s no pressure on us.”
Mpumalanga Black Aces and AmaTuks are the only NFD clubs to have reached the final of the Nedbank Cup in the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons respectively.
In Saturday’s other matches involving NFD teams, Jomo Cosmos host United Rovers at Tsakane Stadium and FC Cape Town face Baroka FC at NNK Rugby Stadium.
