CELTIC, DOWNS CUP REHEARSAL

Bloemfontein Celtic and Mamelodi Sundowns will measure each other up for the Telkom Knockout final

The fixture between Bloemfontein Celtic and Mamelodi Sundowns this Sunday will set the tone for the Telkom Knockout cup competition that will take place at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on December 1.

Celtic advanced to the final of the final of the competition after its 3-2 triumph over Free State Stars at the Charles Mopeli Stadium last week Sunday, in what went down as a nail biting Free State derby duel. The derby saw the two Free State giants fiercely go at each other, with the visitors, Celtic, claiming the glory after a very tight 90 minute contest.

On Wednesday, Celtic continued to ride the high wave with a league victory against Golden Arrows at the King Zwelithini Stadium in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). The Bloemfontein outfit managed to sneak a late 1-0 win over the KZN side.

It seemed as if both teams were going to finish the match with a goalless draw but the Celtic defender and captain, Thabo Nthethe, scored the solitary goal in the dying minutes of the match.

This was truly a narrow victory for the visitors, Celtic, after escaping numerous attempts by Arrows that almost rattled the net. Arrows also held most of the ball possession.

Nonetheless, the victory earned Celtic maximum points and secured the team’s spot in the top eight positions on the log at this point in time. The Free State side remains seventh on the premiership log, with 16 points after 11 matches.

The victory against Arrows is also a morale booster for Celtic the league match against the luckless Sundowns side, which is still struggling to find its rhythm in the league after 11 games.

Nthethe said the team knows that it is going to be tough to play back-to-back fixtures, but the players are raring to go at it and hopefully win some silver ware for the club.

“Sundowns also want to win the Telkom Knockout tournament; but for us as well, it has been long since we last won a cup, so I think we just need to go all the way.”
In contrast to Celtic’s result, Sundowns only managed a 1-1 draw in its midweek fixture against Amazulu on Wednesday.

The first goal of the match came through Amazulu’s Andile Khumalo who easily tapped in the ball from striker, Ayanda Dlamini’s pass.

Sundowns fought back until Anthony Laffor, who is gradually picking up form, scored an equaliser for the Brazilians in the 85th minute. The single pointed earned by the Pretoria side ensured that it remains rooted to the bottom of the log with a mere seven points after eleven matches.

In spite of the terrible league run, Sundowns has done well in this year’s edition of the Telkom Knockout cup and has subsequently made it into the final of the competition.

In the semi-finals of the competition, Sundowns managed to knockout fellow derby rivals, SuperSport United with a 1-0 victory, with striker Eleazar Rodgers netting the only goal of the match to send the Brazilians into the final.

Sundowns now have the opportunity to salvage some pride and win the Telkom Knockout trophy, to counter the current bad run in the league.