The Chinese legends were in their customary element when they offered that a journey of a thousand steps counts from the first one. Today marks the crowning night for the kings of the 2023 MTN8 Cup in the new season, the earliest repertoire of domestic tournaments.
Saturday | October 7, 2023
The contemporary epic games usher yet another calendar date of euphoric cup finale starring two giants of South African sports.
The MTN8 Cup climax pits the holders Orlando Pirates Football Club (FC) against the challengers Mamelodi Sundowns FC in Durban tonight.
A galaxy of players loom large on the KwaZulu-Natal Province horizon to mesmerize the fans with their immense athleticism in search of silverware.
Moses Mabhida Stadium in its colossal grand stature will provide the perfect turf for this anticipated mouthwatering clash scheduled to kickoff at 18h00 SAT.
Path to final
On the one hand, Pirates [The Buccaneers] made their way to the MTN8 Cup final by trashing Sekhukhune United FC 5-0 in the quarter-finals. In the same vein, Sundowns defeated Moroka Swallows FC by a slender 1-0 margin.
The Buccaneers progressed to the semifinals where they beat Stellenbosch FC on an away goal rule after a 2-2 aggregate score. They netted twice away in Cape Town meanwhile Stellenbosch scored one on each occasion in their double-legged semi-final meeting. Even though Stellenbosch won 1-0 on their trip to Soweto, it was not sufficient to take them all the way to the final.
On the other hand, Sundowns [The Brazilians] eliminated Kaizer Chiefs FC by 3-2 on aggregate. In their first encounter, Sundowns held Chiefs to a 1-1 draw in Johannesburg and pulled a 2-1 win at home, Pretoria.
Seeking cup glory
To some degree, although they last won it in 2021, The Brazilians come into this cup-final tie with an upper hand. This is may largely be attributed to their recent good run in all competitions in the 2023/2024 football campaign.
Having said that, The Buccaneers are the defending champions of this cup and will put out a good fight to retain it. Although they have faltered of late, they have a fairly decent squad to slug it out on any given match day. Perhaps, and most certain so, in a cup final.
As such, these definitive battles are all or nothing matchups where a team that pairs its hunger for lifting the ultimate prize with a sterler performance emerges triumphant. The resounding question this evening will be: which side is going to come up trumps between these Premier Soccer League juggernauts?
All matters considered as far as domestic football relates, there is no better cup final fixture than The Buccaneers and The Brazilians. These are the ultimate titans in the realm of elite sports in South Africa. Their competitive duel has become one of the unparalleled drawcards of enthusiasts of the beautiful game.
And there is little doubt that the Durban skyknight will witness a fierce but scintillating spectacle this season yet to herald the uber dogs of the 8-team tournament dubbed “Wafa Wafa” silverware.