Amakhosi face early Nedbank Cup examination in Stellenbosch clash

Defending Nedbank Cup champions Kaizer Chiefs will face their first major test of their title defence when they come up against Stellenbosch FC in a Last 32 clash at Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday (kick-off 7pm).

The Glamour Boys return to the competition they lifted last season after edging arch-rivals Orlando Pirates 1–0 in the final. Now tasked with defending a trophy for the first time in over a decade, Amakhosi face yet another tricky challenge as they look to navigate the early stages of the tournament.

Chiefs have been enjoying a positive run of form, with encouraging results in both their league campaign and the Caf Confederation Cup. However, standing in their way is a Stellenbosch side that has built a reputation as a formidable cup team in recent seasons. 

Stellies reached the MTN8 final earlier this season, where they lost to Pirates (3-1 in extra time), and also lifted the Carling Knockout a couple of years ago, underlining the difficulty of the assignment.

Speaking about their recent form and improved consistency, co-coach Cedric Kaze attributed their success to subtle but important adjustments made to the team.

“In every club, it’s the results that give you confidence to work on other things,” Kaze said.

“Sometimes you stubbornly want to play in one way and say that this is the way that you play, but dying with ideas that do not work is not a good way of dying.

“But if you are able to adjust your team, as I said when we went into the second phase of the league, I mentioned that we would probably sacrifice a little bit of possession to be able to be a team that hurts when you don’t expect it.”

The Chiefs mentor added that lessons drawn from last season’s data highlighted how effective the team could be with a few tactical tweaks.

“Last year against AmaZulu, we had like 72% of possession in the whole game, we had 19 shots and 12 on target, and we missed a penalty, and we only ended up securing a point in that match.

“We had a match against TS Galaxy where we had more than 60% of possession and more than 16 shots and nine on target, but we ended up with only one point.

“Now we have seen what we can do, and as we get results, players get more confident to keep the ball and have possession.”

Stellies will also draw confidence from previous cup meetings against Chiefs. The last time the two sides faced off in a knockout fixture, The Maroons held Amakhosi to a goalless draw through normal and extra time before claiming a 5 – 4 victory on penalties.

Reflecting on that encounter, Kaze felt his side had been superior on the day, but he also expects a different challenge this time around, with Gavin Hunt now at the helm of the Cape Winelands outfit.

“The game that we played against Stellenbosch in the Carling Cup, I thought that we were the best team on the field, and the stats are there to acknowledge it.

“They were never dangerous to us, and we had a lot of opportunities to score. We just need to repeat everything and put in the intensity and technical accuracy.

“We know that with the coaches at Stellenbosch now, it’s a physical game — long balls, crosses and balls into the box — and we need to deal with all of that, play our game on the front foot, and be dynamic and effective in front of the net.”