The spotlight shifts to KwaZulu-Natal this weekend as the province hosts a trio of high-stakes encounters in the Nedbank Cup Round of 16.
Among the most anticipated is the showdown between Lamontville Golden Arrows and Stellenbosch FC. For Abafana Bes’thende, the stakes could not be higher.
Despite reaching the semi-finals in 2017 and 2019, the club is still hunting for its first-ever appearance in a Nedbank Cup final.
That said, they will have to do it without the services of breakout midfield talent Isaac Cisse, following his dismissal in a recent Betway Premiership fixture against Magesi FC.
During the pre-match press conference, Arrows’ mentor Manqoba Mngqithi offered a candid assessment of the incident. Rather than pointing fingers solely at the officiating, the 54-year-old coach admitted he fell into the same trap as the referee.
“The referee knew what he was doing and I think he just made a mistake,” Mngqithi remarked. “I think, even myself, I made a mistake because I thought Cisse actually fouled. I saw the aggression in the tackle and when the opponent went down, even I thought it was supposed to be a red.”
Mngqithi highlighted the immense difficulty of officiating in real-time, noting that his initial reaction was shaped by the sheer speed of the game. He observed that while the high aggression of the tackle suggested a direct red card on first glance, the luxury of post-match review changed the narrative entirely.
He conceded, “When you’ve got the freedom of looking at the game in slow motion and everything, then you start saying, ‘The referee was wrong here'”.
As Golden Arrows prepare for the crunch tie against a disciplined Stellenbosch side, they must do so without Cisse’s energy in the middle of the park. Kick off in KZN is set for 18h00 tomorrow evening.