Cape Town - The draw of the MTN8 semi-finals was done on Monday evening and there promises to be more interest in the event this year given that it features three Gauteng giants, namely Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns.
The semi-finals will also be played over two legs this year with the first legs commencing on Saturday, October 1.
Pirates and Sundowns will face each other while Kaizer Chiefs are due to face AmaZulu. As we have seen in the past, anything can happen in tournament football and all four teams will be looking to go all the way in the Wafa Wafa competition. Pirates, Sundowns and Chiefs have all won the tournament in recent history but Usuthu, led by Brandon Truter, are looking to end a trophy drought which now spans three decades.
Pirates coach Jose Riveiro is aware that his side faces a tough challenge against defending champions Sundowns.
“It will be a moment of fitness and confidence. The matches will be attractive with plenty of emotions. It will feature two good teams with quality players. It will be decided in the second game so my prediction is that it will be equal. Hopefully, there will be plenty of goals and emotions. We are motivated to go all the way in the competition,” said the Spaniard.
AmaZulu head into their contest against Chiefs on the back of an impressive win over Cape Town City. Usuthu were impressive against the Citizens as they mentally broke down their opponents even though it was City who dominated possession. Usuthu will hope to do the same against Chiefs, who have so far proven to have several flaws under new coach Arthur Zwane.
AmaZulu coach Truter is adamant that his men are out to compete and will show no fear against the more decorated Chiefs.
“The first leg being away will give us an advantage. If we can get the job done early away from home, it will put us in a good position before the second leg. We fancy our chances against any team. The boys have been playing well and the team is always improving. There is always room for improvement. I expect us to be top quality against Chiefs,” said Truter.
Chiefs have made a slow start to life under Zwane having only won two out of their five league games so far. Prior to the MTN8 semi, Chiefs will host Usuthu in a league game this Saturday. Zwane believes that the outcome of the league game could give the winning side an edge in the cup tie.
“It won’t be easy against AmaZulu. They have been winning league games. They have assembled a good squad with a good technical team. It will be over two legs and difficult. These games will be knockout games and so it will depend on the approach for the home and away games. We first play them in a league game and so look forward to that,” said Zwane.
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