Dan Malesela, coach of the Marumo Gallants, hopes his players’ mental strength will propel them to prevail against the defending champions of the Carling Black Label Cup, Stellenbosch FC, on Sunday, 3 November.
The two sides will clash in a quarterfinal of the tournament in Bloemfontein’s football powerhouse, the Dr RP Molemela Stadium.
The winner thereof automatically progresses to the semifinals.
The competition draw pitted the Bahlabane ba Ntwa against Stellenbosch, who secured a quarterfinal slot after narrowly beating AmaZulu 2 – 1 in round 16 of the tournament.
The Steve Barker charges, the Stellies, were crowned the champions of the inaugural edition of the Carling Knockout following a nail-biting 5 – 4 penalty shoot-out victory over TS Galaxy in December last year. The teams were gridlocked at 1 – 1 after the end of regulation time and extra time, forcing them to decide the winner via penalties.
The mental strength of Malesela’s warriors propelled them in other encounters, one of these being their comeback to beat Polokwane City 3 – 2 to progress to this juncture of the lucrative tournament.
The Gallants also held their nerve against TS Galaxy in a Betway Premiership League fixture, in which they drew one-all in Bloemfontein on Saturday, 26 October.
Malesela’s charges gallantly fought with ten men to share the spoils in the tension-filled match.
The result offers some relief for this tactician, who continues working to build a formidable team from a crop of vastly experienced players he found upon the purchase of the now defunct Moroka Swallows franchise.
The Gallants finished Saturday’s league outing with one man short, following the dismissal of their captain, Edgar Manaka, mid-way in the first stanza of the outing.
Decisive referee Skhumbozo Gasa red-carded the skipper for dangerous play against an opponent.
Following this, Manaka will not be selected for the crucial knockout fixture against the gutsy Stellies.
