Ahead of the much-anticipated MTN8 final between Orlando Pirates and Stellenbosch FC, former Golden Arrows midfielder Njabulo Manqana says it would be good for South African football to have a smaller team clinch the Wafa Wafa trophy this season.
Pirates and Stellenbosch will deliver a repeat of the MTN8 final of last season, when they lock horns at the Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga on Saturday evening. The game will kick off at 6pm.
Stellies go into the game as underdogs, as they will face the defending champions, who have already won the top eight competition for a record three times in a row.
Manqana, who knows a thing or two about winning the MTN8 against a big team, said it would be nice to see Stellies lift the top eight this time around and get their revenge against the Buccaneers.
Tried and tested campaigner
He was instrumental when Arrows beat a then-strong but now-defunct Ajax Cape Town 6-0 in the final back in 2009 at the Orlando Stadium.
“It will be very good to see a smaller team win the MTN8 this season because I remember during our time at Arrows, no one expected us to beat Ajax because at that time, Ajax were very strong and competing for the league,” Manqana said during a telephonic interview with Sunday World on Thursday.
“So, I think it will be really good to see Stellenbosch win it this time around. It will be very painful if they were to lose the final to the same team twice. Stellies will not accept being beaten twice by the same team in the final.
“So, I am expecting Stellenbosch to go all out this time around, because in coach Steve Barker’s recent interview, he said that he has something up his sleeve and is ready for war. But Pirates will not make it easy for them either, so we have ourselves an exciting game in our hands.”
