Will the Chiefs soccer beast be resuscitated in Carling Knockout?
The outcome of the grudge match between Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns will finally tell whether AmaKhosi has truly turned a soccer corner.
Kaizer Chiefs fans will eagerly await the resurrection of the soccer beast in AmaKhosi when the grudge match with Mamelodi Sundowns in the Carling Knockout quarterfinals takes place on November 2 at the FNB Stadium, with kick-off set for 18:00.
This is considered a grudge match because Sundowns has long dominated Chiefs in the premiership and its cup tournaments, and Tunisian coach Nasreddine Nabi was brought specifically to rejuvenate the club’s fortunes.
Read more: A grudge match on the cards for Chiefs against Downs in Carling Knockout
Nabi’s arrival has already signalled a comeback of the beast of yesteryears as AmaKhosi Amahle has won three of its four games in the league so far and one game of the first cup tournament.
The one match Amakhosi lost in the premiership was against their nemesis Sundowns on September 28 but the club’s supporters believe the writing is on the wall and Chiefs is back to its former glory days when it used to win everything on offer.
Ask many of AmaKhosi’s followers and they will tell you the Brazilians were lucky to walk away with the 2-1 victory on that day. Chiefs seemed to be on top of Downs most of the time with their brilliant runs into the opposition’s box but lady luck was not on their side.
Also read: Chiefs penalised for spectator violence against Downs
AmaKhosi also opened the scoring on the day and had a last-minute smash-and-grab equaliser disallowed for offside. All roads will lead to the FNB Stadium to see if Chiefs will finally post a victory over Masandawana in many years.
The opener of the weekend’s knockout games will be a clash between the Rich Boys of Richards Bay and the Citizens, better known as Cape Town City FC, to be played at King Zwelithini Stadium at 15:00.
This will be followed on November 3 by a Mbombela battle of The Rockets of TS Galaxy FC against giant killers and maidens of the premiership, Magesi FC, which just bundled out the ‘not so cup specialists anymore’, Orlando Pirates in the first round of the cup tournament.
The last match of the weekend will involve Marumo Gallants against the rising force of South African football and defending champions Stellenbosch at the Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium in the Free State capital of Bloemfontein.
These matches will decide the semi-finalists of the tournament with games to be played on the weekend of November 9 and 10, with the final scheduled for November 23 at a venue yet to be determined.
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Related article: Chiefs fail to tame a rampant Downs at FNB
