Sparks will be flying at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium when Chippa United locks horns with Orlando Pirates in the Nedbank Cup semi-finals. The Chilli Boys had their four-match winning run halted by a 2-1 defeat against Amazulu over the weekend and will have a chance at redemption when they face Moroka Swallows during the week in a must-win game to be able to build momentum ahead of the semi-final clash, but they have a mountain of a task ahead of them of overcoming the Soweto Giants who have been unstoppable lately. Meanwhile, the defending champions continued to impress when they rolled over Royal AM 4-0 on Sunday in the DStv Premiership, they will be visiting Cape Town City on Wednesday before their Nedbank Cup clash. We look to see if they can defeat United in their backyard.
To win (90 min)
CHIPPA UNITED 15/4
DRAW 23/10
PIRATES 7/10
Chippa United
The Eastern Cape side began their campaign by edging FC Ravens 2-1 despite being a man short after Elmo Kambindu received a second yellow and was shown a red card. They were then pitted against on-form TS Galaxy in the quarterfinal. Eva Nga opened the scoring in the 30th minute and Roscoe Pietersen sealed it for Kwanele Kopo’s side with a last-minute penalty to book their spot in the semi-final in a highly contested match that ended 2-0.
The home side has been enjoying good form lately complemented by positive results which has seen them clear off the relegation zone and climb to ninth place in the DStv Premiership standings. They showed character despite going down 2-1 against Amazulu on Saturday in a match which seemed to have ended in a draw before Hendrick Ekstein scored a last-minute goal to hand Amazulu the three points.
Cameroonian Striker Eva Nga has been instrumental in the club’s recent success scoring match-winning goals for Chippa Mpengesi’s men. Stanley Nwabali has been continuing with his impressive AFCON form keeping strikers at bay and ensuring that his side does not concede goals. He has kept four clean sheets in the last five matches for his side and conceded only two goals. It will be interesting to see if he can manage to
Orlando Pirates
Jose Riveiro’s side experienced no problems when they demolished Hungry Lions to kickstart their Nedbank Cup journey. The Motsepe Foundation Championship side seemed to be holding it together in the first half conceding one goal but ended up being outclassed in the second half with the Pirates scoring three more goals, controlling the game, and enjoying a great deal of ball possession.
The Bucs booked their spot in the last four after a hard-fought victory against Amazulu in an action-packed match which ended 4-2. Patrick Maswanganyi who is a clear contender for the player of the season was instrumental in the Pirates’ success in this match netting two goals. Maswanganyi has scored nine goals and provided ten assists in his 34 appearances for the Buccaneers. We look to see if he can show another brilliance and assist his side to the second final of the season.
The Sea Robbers have not been shy in the face of goals having scored 17 goals in their five recent matches. Getting Tshegofatso Mabasa back from Moroka Swallows seems to be paying off for them as he has solved their goalscoring problems. Mabasa is currently one of the top scorers in the league with 11 goals. He is expected to trouble the Chilli Boys’ defence.
Prediction:
Pirates are without the stronger side in this clash and have been dominant in cup competitions. They were successful in defending their MTN 8 trophy and they will be aiming to do the same with the Nedbank Cup as they are the defending champions. Chippa slayed Kaizer Chiefs earlier in April and is expected to fight tooth and nail to shock another Soweto side. Based on the quality of the squad that they have as well as the experience that they possess, I see the Pirates winning this match.
Written by Siphesihle Soni.