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We can take Sundowns down - Ndlondlo

Midfielder confident his team will defend Nedbank Cup

Athenkosi Tsotsi Sports Reporter
Ndabayithethwa Ndlondlo of Marumo Gallants during the 2022 Nedbank Cup Quarterfinals match between Marumo Gallants and Baroka FC.
Ndabayithethwa Ndlondlo of Marumo Gallants during the 2022 Nedbank Cup Quarterfinals match between Marumo Gallants and Baroka FC.
Image: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix

Marumo Gallants midfielder Ndabayithethwa Ndlondlo believes they have a good chance of defending their Nedbank Cup when they take on Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium (6pm).

The Dan Malesela-coached side is looking to cap off a decent season where they secured their DStv Premiership status and qualified for the CAF Confederation Cup with a trophy.

As the defending champions of the 32-team competition, Gallants have played well throughout the knockout stages, defeating Santos, Orlando Pirates, Baroka and TTM en route to the final.

In the final in Rustenburg, they will face a Sundowns team thats looking for a clean sweep of all the domestic trophies, having already won the MTN 8 and league title.

Ndlondlo acknowledges that the Brazilians are favourites but is optimistic they will match them on the pitch and can even defeat them and defend their Nedbank Cup title. 

Last year we played the final and we won, this year we stand a chance of winning it again. Its possible for us to win it again, its a great motivation for us to do it for the second time in a row, said Ndlondlo. 

No one is giving us a chance. Its good to have that, for the opponent it will be giving them pressure because they are the league champions and people expect them to win. 

(Defending the title) Itll require us to dig deep as a team, fight for one another because we are playing the best team in the country, Ndlondlo. 

Ndlondlo will be celebrating his 27th birthday on Saturday, and how the birthday celebrations will go down will be dictated by the result and performance he displays.

Hes expected to play a key role as the attacking midfielder for Gallants. Knowing that hes the main offensive threat for Gallants, Ndlondlo is anticipating Sundowns to plan on closing him down.

“They’ll be looking forward to closing me down,” said Ndlondlo. “Which is something that will help the team. They’ll be focused on me but there will be other players in the team that can give them problems,” he said.  

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