NOW that the hype of Bafana Bafana and Nigeria’s Africa Cup of Nations match has passed, the focus shifts to the eagerly awaited Telkom Knockout’s Soweto derby semifinal.
Attention will turn to Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium where round two of the battle between giants Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates takes place on Saturday (3pm). The buzz generated by the clash is impossible to miss, with match tickets selling out within two hours of going on sale.
This clash is more interesting considering there is a trophy at stake, not just bragging rights along with three points.
Both teams are in their fourth season without winning a trophy.
The 2-1 Absa Premiership defeat Amakhosi suffered at the hands of Bucs at FNB Stadium on 27 October is still fresh in their fans’ minds. When the giants were pitted against each other in the TKO it gave Chiefs fans hope for a chance to avenge the defeat and regain some bragging rights earlier than expected.
The clash presents a chance for Chiefs players to turn the venue into a happy hunting ground and erase the bad memories of events that saw their fans serve a two-match ban.
Since they suffered that 2-0 Nedbank Cup semifinal defeat to Free State Stars in April, Chiefs have had poor results at the venue without their fans’ backing. They lost 1-0 to Polokwane City in a league match, followed by a goalless draw with Chippa United, both played in an empty stadium as fans served their suspension.
The Soweto derby has been known to produce draws in recent years but the last two clashes between the two teams broke a run of four successive stalemates as Pirates beat Chiefs 3-1 in the second round of the league last season.
Bucs have now extended their unbeaten run against their rivals to 11 competitive matches. The last time Amakhosi beat Pirates was in 2014 when they won 1-0 with Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter at the helm on their way to claiming the league title.
Meanwhile, defending TKO champions Bidvest Wits will tackle Baroka FC in the other semifinal showdown at Polokwane’s Peter Mokaba Stadium on Sunday (3pm).
Baroka will be seeking revenge after losing 1-0 to Wits in the quarterfinal of the competition last year. But Wits are favourite to reach the final again as they have not lost to Baroka in their last three meetings. They drew 1-1 in the second round of the league in March and Wits won the first round league match 1-0 last year.