Chiefs, SuperSport renew cup rivalry

Clayton Daniels of Supersport United challenges Khama Billiat of Kaizer Chiefs during the MTN8 Semi Final first Leg match between Supersport United and Kaizer Chiefs on the 26 August 2018 at Lucas Moripe Stadium/ Pic Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix

by Graeme Jackson

Friday Nov 02, 2018. 13:00

Kaizer Chiefs and SuperSport United will renew their cup rivalry with a Telkom Knockout quarterfinal clash at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday, 4 November 2018, kick-off at 15h00.

Chiefs earned their place in the final eight by overcoming Black Leopards at home on October 21. The Soweto giants came from a goal down to draw 1-1 (with Hendrick Ekstein scoring their equaliser) over 120 minutes, before edging Lidoda Duvha 4-2 on penalties.

The Amakhosi have won a record 13 League Cup titles (three of them in the TKO era), though their last triumph was in the 2010/11 season. Last season they got as far the semifinals before losing 1-0 to eventual champions Bidvest Wits.

SuperSport also needed penalties to take their place in the quarterfinals. They drew 1-1 away to Polokwane City (with Thuso Phala netting their goal) after extra time, before taking the shootout 6-5. It’s the third time this season the Tshwane side has gone to penalties, having beaten Orlando Pirates and lost to Cape Town City in shootouts in the MTN8.

Matsatsantsa won their only Telkom Knockout title in 2014 and they have already improved on last year’s showing when they were eliminated in the first round, suffering a penalty shootout loss to Bloemfontein Celtic (after a 2-2 draw).

Chiefs and SuperSport have been regular cup combatants and met as recently as late August and early September over two legs in the MTN8 semifinal – United emerged 3-2 winners on aggregate thanks to three goals from Bradley Grobler.

Yet this will be the teams’ first Telkom Knockout match in more than a decade: they last faced off in the League Cup at this same stage in the 2007/08 season, with Chiefs winning 1-0 en route to claiming the trophy.

Overall, Amakhosi and Matsatsantsa have clashed in 16 cup matches. The Soweto side has claimed eight outright wins compared to six (plus one via penalties) for their Tshwane counterparts. Across all competitions, Chiefs have 28 wins to United’s 26 (plus 18 draws) in 71 matches since 1990.