Both coaches are hoping for an end-to-end‚ high-scoring‚ exciting MTN8 final between Bidvest Wits and Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday‚ though both warn it might also be tight and tactical.
The cup final between the form teams of 2016-17‚ the league champions of last season Sundowns and the runners-up Wits‚ the sides who made the best signings of the off-season and the two best squads in the country has been much hyped up.
As can be the case with such hype‚ especially in the cagey surrounds of a cup final‚ the end product on the field on the day can be a let-down.
But Saturday’s MTN8 final at Mbombela Stadium should be an ultra-competitive match-up one way or another between a Sundowns side that is one of the most formidable of the PSL era‚ and strong Wits combination of unquantifiable potential.
The coaches on the touchlines‚ too‚ are two of the most competitive in SA‚ with proud trophy-winning records.
Downs coach Pitso Mosimane is hoping for a high-scoring game‚ though his instincts tell him otherwise.
“I think this one is going got be a low-margin one. And I hope it’s not going to be boring. I hope we get what we got against Chippa [in the semifinals]‚” Mosimane said.
“Because sometimes with the tactics and we are cutting each other‚ really‚ it doesn’t live up to the standards.
“You see Pirates and Chiefs with a 0-0 or a 1-1. It would be nice to have a 3-2‚ 4-3 – that’s what I like. Whoever wins.
“Those are the scorelines where you have a story to write – even you [the press]‚ you’re not going to be struggling to write your column. You’ll be having so much fun with it.
“So let’s get the goals and then it’s beautiful. I hope that Wits score goals‚ but I’d like to score more than them. At least one more. That would be nice.”
Wits counterpart Gavin Hunt said the overriding objective for the two teams and their coaches is to lift a trophy.
“Will it be a pretty game? Everybody loves a 5-4‚ and those types of games – the connoisseurs‚” Hunt said.
“But I think at the end of the day for both coaches and both teams it’s about trying to get over the line and try and win the game.”
Both coaches are entering their fourth full seasons at their respective clubs.
Hunt – a three-time in succession PSL winner at SuperSport United from 2008 to 2010 – has yet to win a trophy at Wits‚ but has steered the Clever Boys to their best league finishes of third‚ third and second.
Mosimane has turned around a nine-year dry spell at Downs with league titles in 2013-14 and 2015-16‚ the Nedbank Cup in 2014-15 and Telkom Knockout that made 2015-16 a double season.
-TMG Digital/TMG Sport
Wits and Sundowns coaches hoping for a high-scoring clash
Both coaches are hoping for an end-to-end‚ high-scoring‚ exciting MTN8 final between Bidvest Wits and Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday‚ though both warn it might also be tight and tactical.
The cup final between the form teams of 2016-17‚ the league champions of last season Sundowns and the runners-up Wits‚ the sides who made the best signings of the off-season and the two best squads in the country has been much hyped up.
As can be the case with such hype‚ especially in the cagey surrounds of a cup final‚ the end product on the field on the day can be a let-down.
But Saturday’s MTN8 final at Mbombela Stadium should be an ultra-competitive match-up one way or another between a Sundowns side that is one of the most formidable of the PSL era‚ and strong Wits combination of unquantifiable potential.
The coaches on the touchlines‚ too‚ are two of the most competitive in SA‚ with proud trophy-winning records.
Downs coach Pitso Mosimane is hoping for a high-scoring game‚ though his instincts tell him otherwise.
“I think this one is going got be a low-margin one. And I hope it’s not going to be boring. I hope we get what we got against Chippa [in the semifinals]‚” Mosimane said.
“Because sometimes with the tactics and we are cutting each other‚ really‚ it doesn’t live up to the standards.
“You see Pirates and Chiefs with a 0-0 or a 1-1. It would be nice to have a 3-2‚ 4-3 – that’s what I like. Whoever wins.
“Those are the scorelines where you have a story to write – even you [the press]‚ you’re not going to be struggling to write your column. You’ll be having so much fun with it.
“So let’s get the goals and then it’s beautiful. I hope that Wits score goals‚ but I’d like to score more than them. At least one more. That would be nice.”
Wits counterpart Gavin Hunt said the overriding objective for the two teams and their coaches is to lift a trophy.
“Will it be a pretty game? Everybody loves a 5-4‚ and those types of games – the connoisseurs‚” Hunt said.
“But I think at the end of the day for both coaches and both teams it’s about trying to get over the line and try and win the game.”
Both coaches are entering their fourth full seasons at their respective clubs.
Hunt – a three-time in succession PSL winner at SuperSport United from 2008 to 2010 – has yet to win a trophy at Wits‚ but has steered the Clever Boys to their best league finishes of third‚ third and second.
Mosimane has turned around a nine-year dry spell at Downs with league titles in 2013-14 and 2015-16‚ the Nedbank Cup in 2014-15 and Telkom Knockout that made 2015-16 a double season.
-TMG Digital/TMG Sport
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