SuperSport United v Mamelodi Sundowns
Just four teams remain in the 2012 Telkom Knockout Cup and rather interestingly, the first tie has yielded an all Pretoria affair with the second being an all Free State battle. The pride of Pretoria clash this Saturday evening as SuperSport United take on an out-of-sorts Mamelodi Sundowns. The other semi sees Free-state Stars play host to Bloemfontein Celtic. Both SuperSport and Sundowns have been struggling to find their best form in the league but have come well in the cup. If judged purely on league form, then this should be a close encounter with both sides managing just a paltry 1 win from 10 games in the league.
SuperSport have been tough to beat in the league as they have drawn 8 of their 10 matches but are clearly lacking the finished product after some very eye-catching build-up play. They are coming off a 2-1 home loss to log leaders Kaizer Chiefs. However, Matsatsantsa have shown what they can do in cup competitions, finishing runners up to Swallows in the MTN8 and having progressed to the semi finals of the Telkom Knockout. Mabhuti Khenyeza and Kermit Erasmas have 3 goals each in the league and they will be looking to build on that when they take on their rivals. SuperSport’s last victory came when they beat Maritzburg 2-0 in this competition a fortnight ago. Late strikes from Thabiso Nkoana and Sibusiso Zuma saw SuperSport progress to the semi-final.
Sundowns’ season has gone from bad to worse with this run to the semi-final being the only bright moment in the current campaign. The Brazilians find themselves in last position on the log standings and will be hard pressed to get a result here. The main area of concern for them is their poor goalscoring record. They have scored just 5 goals in their 10 league games whilst conceding 12. The Brazilians have managed just win one in the league which came over Chippa United in the opening game of the season where they scraped a 1-0 victory. Their last win came in this tournament just a few weeks ago when they beat AmaZulu 2-0 in Durban. Neeskin’s men are coming off another disappointing result as they were held to a 1-1 draw last weekend away to Pretoria of University, despite taking the lead. The form of midfield man Teko Modise is possibly the only positive this season as his displays for the Brazilians has earned him a call-up to the national squad. The South African international scored the winner in the 2-0 quarter-final win over AmaZulu and poses a threat here.
The teams have already met once in the league this season which saw the match end in a goalless draw. History shows that this is often a tight game between the Pretoria neighbours and with both sides battling to find their best strides, this could well be the case once more. A match that could be short of goals may well be only decided in either extra-time or even the dreaded lottery of the penalty shootout. Go low on total goals and back the draw!!!
