The Carling Knockout Cup final takes centre stage as hot-favourites Mamelodi Sundowns target surprise package Magesi FC with history on the line for both teams.
The Brazilians will take their shoe-shine and piano to the Toyota Stadium today with plans to give Dikwena Tsa Meetse the run around in the deciding match of the competition, set to kick off at 6pm.
Although Sundowns have won this competition before under its different guises, Chloorkop is yet to welcome the trophy with the black and gold ribbons of the Carling Black Label, a feather they want in their cap.
For Magesi, it’s been a dreamy start to their first-ever season in the top flight as they find themselves with an opportunity to claim R6 600 000 just four months into elite football.
The Limpopo-based outfit heads into this encounter with a seven-game unbeaten record to protect having shocked Orlando Pirates, defeated TS Galaxy and Richards Bay to place themselves in the final.
The club’s head coach Clinton Larsen has quite a few storylines around him having won this competition against Sundowns in 2012 on the bench of the now-defunct Bloemfontein Celtic.
Back in the City of Roses, the 53-year-old is looking to rekindle his love story with Bloemfontein having bounced back to the elites after coaching in the ABC Motsepe league two seasons ago.
In the Sundowns camp, it will be a case of avoiding that deja vu moment as they look to complete what has been an exceptional run in the competition this year.
Under the guidance of head coach Manqoba Mngqithi, Sundowns are yet to concede a goal and have fired eleven in the opponents net in the three games they’ve played, most recently four against Kaizer Chiefs in the semi-final.
Speaking to the media leading up to the game, Sundowns defender Mosa Lebusa highlighted the importance of affording Magesi the respect they deserve having been a part of the most shocking upsets in cup history.
Lebusa was 23 years old when he led Ajax to a 1-0 win over Chiefs in the MTN8 final, making him the best candidate to discuss cup final competition upsets.
“It will be suicidal for us to think that they’re a small team because with them being in the final it speaks volumes so we have to give them respect,” Lebusa said.
“We have to acknowledge what they’ve done to get to the final but at the same time, not to neglect the qualities that we have. We’ll go out there guns blazing to make sure that we put our hands on their throats.
“It’s always good to kill the game early but I think the important thing would be our rest defence. You’ve seen how they break out so we have to make sure that we don’t lose balls in dangerous areas. We have to play our normal game, make them run and rotate the ball from side to side and at the right time maybe go direct.”