Cape Town - Cape Town City will be looking to turn the tables on Royal AM on Sunday when they meet at the Athlone Stadium in a last-32 round Nedbank Cup clash (start 6pm).
Last season the two teams met in the same round in Durban and hosts Royal AM ran out 2-1 winners. A few weeks ago, City ran out 2-1 home victors against Royal AM in a Premiership fixture.
The Nedbank Cup competition will be the teams' last realistic chance to bring in silverware this season. City have already won the Telkom Knockout and MTN8 in their short history, but have yet to make a real impression on the Nedbank Cup.
Royal AM made their Nedbank Cup debut in 2020 and reached the quarterfinals before losing 4-0 to the now-defunct BidVest Wits. They went out in the first round in 2021, losing to fellow second-tier side Pretoria Callies.
They made it to the semi-finals in 2022 with a thrilling run that ended with a narrow 2-1 loss to eventual winners Mamelodi Sundowns.
They will hope to go one better this year and with coach John Maduka back at the helm, Eric Tinkler, City's coach, says Royal AM is a vastly improved team.
“We are well aware it’s not going to be an easy match. It’s going to be a difficult match," said Tinkler. "They have John Maduka back who took them to third last season.
“So I think they are going to be a different outfit. In terms of our tactical analysis of them, we can’t read too much into what they have been doing in the past under their previous coaches.
“We are kind of looking back to when we played them last season in terms of structurally and tactically what they have done under John, they have different faces compared to last season.
"It’s important that we prepare ourselves. Our biggest problem has been consistency, I think we have underperformed and underachieved. It is time we step up and man up. This is the opportunity to do that.”
Maduka, whose style of play at Royal is called 'Maduka Ball' said the team has lacked consistency this season and he is working to ensure that they win games consistently.
“Most of the players that I left are still there, only a few who are new. So, it is good they know how I work and I know what to expect from them," said Maduka.
"It becomes easy for me and them as well to work together as a team. The pressure will always be there. We did well last season and we have pressure to try and take the team to another level.
“I think we lacked a bit of consistency where we win one game and it will take time to win another. We have to work and be consistent. We have not been doing well.
"But we still have games to change that and get where we belong because we don’t belong where we are right now.”
Meanwhile, TS Galaxy will be looking to avoid a potential banana skin when Amavarara arrive at the BidVest Stadium for a Nedbank Cup round-of-32 clash on Sunday afternoon (start 3pm).
Galaxy are well aware of what the unknown factor can bring, having gone all the way in their first appearance in the Nedbank Cup proper in 2019.
Galaxy beat Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 in the final that year and remain the only club outside the top division to have lifted the trophy.
The Mpumalanga outfit fell at the first hurdle in the next two seasons, before reaching the round of 16 last term when they were eliminated on penalties by Baroka.
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Amavarara will attempt to follow in the footsteps of Dondol Stars, who claimed the big scalp of SuperSport United. The ABC Motsepe League club hails from the Eastern Cape.
Meanwhile, at the Harry Gwala Stadium on Sunday, KwaZulu-Natal ABC Motsepe League side Mkhambathi FC might have been hoping for a bigger fish in the last-32 round but will find Casric Stars a tough proposition.
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Stars have been the form team in the NFD over the last six or seven games and are flying high in the league. They have a form man in Kgomotso Mosadi, who has been sensational for them, netting eight goals in his first 12 league starts and grabbing a hat-trick in the preliminary round of the Nedbank Cup against Uthongathi.
Pietermaritzburg-based Mkhambathi FC will debut in the 2023 Nedbank Cup and hope to showcase their potential as a side that can be elevated to the professional ranks in the coming years.
IOL Sport