The new kids on the block Magesi FC will be on a mission to continue their fairy tale run in the Carling Knockout and cause another upset against TS Galaxy this afternoon at the Mbombela Stadium.
In just their first season in the PSL topflight, the Limpopo-based outfit knocked out cup specialists Orlando Pirates in the last 16 of the competition and secured a big 2-2 draw against Kaizer Chiefs in the league midweek.
Ahead of the game, coach Clinton Larsen said they would use the underdog tag to their
advantage and orchestrate another upset against the struggling Galaxy.
“Exactly like it was against Pirates. We now go to Mbombela, and we will try to cause another upset against Galaxy as we have done in recent weeks,” he said.
“Once again, there’s less pressure on us being the underdogs, and that we should use to our advantage.
“But we are just pleased that our players keep surprising us, keep fighting, and keep trying to execute what we worked on,” Larsen said.
In the other quarterfinal fixture, defending champions Stellenbosch FC will also be on the road as they will be out in Bloemfontein, visiting Marumo Gallants at the Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium.
Stellenbosch and Gallants will be meeting each other again in less than 48 hours following their Betway Premiership encounter on Friday night.
Stellies came out tops as they edged Gallants 1-0 at the Cape Town Stadium.
After the match, Stellies coach Steve Barker said he was anticipating a tougher challenge in the cup game but would find a way to beat Gallants and knock them out of the competition.
“I do anticipate that they will make one or two changes and try and dominate the game a
little bit more in terms of trying to keep the ball and to move us around, as opposed to them just sitting a little bit like they did in the first half, especially. So, we must be prepared for that,” Barker said.
By the end of match-day today, the last four remaining teams in the Carling Knockout will know who their opponents are, going into the semifinals of what has been an exciting and
electrifying second edition of the knockout competition.
