Nedbank Feature - Quarterfinals

With the Nedbank Cup now at the quarter-final stages, eight trophy-hungry teams are sure to be eyeing the final prize, but there is still some hard graft to be done.   The pick of the draw, without doubt, is the clash between Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates, a titanic match-up which has both sets of supporters drooling in anticipation. That said, the NFD's Baroka FC still plan to upset the PSL party, and the underdogs are sure to garner massive support the further they progress in the competition.   Soccer Laduma's Siseko Gwegwe, with the help of Nikolaos Kirkinis and Rodney Mashego, talk to the fans of the remaining clubs about what promises to be a thrilling round of cup football! Pick of the draw   Mamelodi Sundowns v Orlando Pirates   Lucas Moripe Stadium, Saturday 23 April, 20h15   All eyes will settle on the Lucas Moripe Stadium for the 2015/16 Nedbank Cup quarter-final clash between Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates! Last season Bucs walked away 2–1 winners, however they will go into this game having already lost twice to last season's Nedbank Cup champions, Sundowns, in the league. Soccer Laduma's  Nikolaos Kirkinis spoke to Kabo Yellow's famous Mama Tsontso, while colleague Rodney Mashego chatted to renowned Buccaneer Jwarha to get the rivals' thoughts on the do-or-die encounter.   We're not scared of Pirates!   Mama Tsontso - Sundowns super-fan    Nikolaos Kirkinis: How are you feeling about the upcoming Nedbank Cup clash against Orlando Pirates?   Mama Tsontso: Ah, we are going to walk all over them! We are not scared of Pirates! We are not scared of any team, in fact. We just need to play a clean game so that we avoid yellow cards and injuries... that's our only worry. If we can avoid that, then that game... aah, sorry Pirates. Ha, ha, ha! We are going to walk into the semi-finals, ha, ha, ha!   NK: Why do you think you have the beating of them?   MT: You know what, we have the team that can do it. Also we have committed players who know what they want. I can't say (Khama) Billiat is better than whoever because we have the best players at Sundowns! They are so focused. Even if we had CBD on injury, we still have people in the team who are focused and committed. At Sundowns we honestly have the best players out there! If we give it our best, we WILL beat Pirates!   NK: If you could pick one Bucs player to join Downs, who would that be?   MT: Aaaaah, no, no, no, no! You always try and ask me this but I've told you we don't need anyone!    We don't need any substitution! We don't need to take any bone from anyone! We are fine the way we are! Ha, ha, we don't need whoever from Wits or Pirates or whoever... our house is balanced. I love my players and I want them the way they are.   NK: Okay, who do you think is their most dangerous player, then?   MT: Eish, that's a tough one… Pirates, ne? Not Gabuza, definitely not. Probably Ndoro. It used to be Siyabonga (Sangweni) and then I liked (Kermit) Erasmus, but these days… yah, probably (Tendai) Ndoro.   Sundowns meet us at the wrong time!   Jwarha - Prominent  Bucs fan    Rodney Mashego: What are your thoughts on the Nedbank Cup draw which pits Bucs against league leaders Sundowns?   Jwarha: It's a good draw! If you want to win the cup, you have to beat the strongest teams. I was worried that we would reach the final without having faced a stronger opponent, but luckily they have reached their destination! They have finally met a team that knows how to beat other teams, but we'll gladly kick them out of the cup so that they can focus on their CAF and league fixtures. They have beaten us twice and taken six points away from us this season, so it is payback time now! They meet us at the wrong time as we're in good spirits. We started with our neighbours in the Last 32 when we beat Kaizer Chiefs. They ended up getting so confused they used the fans' gates to leave the stadium…ha, ha… so this is just another final before the final. We are revitalised in this competition and no one will stand in our way! Sundowns should step down because we want to win this trophy and return to Africa!   RM: What do you see as Sundowns' strengths?   J: I have been watching them in the Nedbank Cup and I must say that their performances have not been that good. They were held by Highlands Park in the first round, where they eventually won in extra time. They then managed to beat Mbombela United, but their win wasn't that impressive for me. They're not showing hunger and determination in this competition. I am pretty sure that their biggest focus is on the CAF Champions League and the PSL, so I haven't seen their strong points yet.    RM: If you could choose one player from Sundowns to join Pirates, who would that be?   J: I don't think there's any player that I would like to see kwezimnyama (at Pirates). You must know that Pirates is a big club. You must be well-cooked as a player if you want to play for us. They're just average players at Sundowns and that's why they're there and not with us! If you talk about players such as Khama Billiat, Bongani Zungu, Keagan Dolly and Themba Zwane... we also have our version of those players in the mould of Thabo Rakhale, Luvuyo Memela, Tendai Ndoro, Mpho Makola and the likes. So even if Sundowns players were to join our team, they wouldn't get game-time.    SuperSport United v Mpumalanga Black Aces   Lucas Moripe Stadium Friday 22 April, 20h00   Brockie will score!   Sister Charmaine - SuperSport Untied supporter    "Matsatsantsa a Pitori are winning this game! Jeremy Brockie will do the scoring job as usual. I will give Mpumalanga Black Aces one goal… we will beat them 2–1! We have some of the most dangerous players in the country in Kingston Nkhatha and Thuso Phala, and Aces can't stop our danger. I have a lot of trust in Stuart Baxter!"   We're in the semis nakanjani!   Mama Pule - Black Aces supporter   AmaZayoni will teach SuperSport a lesson! We're in the semi-finals nakanjani (for sure)! We are not afraid of SuperSport United! They are light-weight. We will take this one 2–1 in their own stadium! I would love to get Bidvest Wits in the semi-finals and beat them too!"   Free State Stars v Bidvest Wits   Goble Park   Saturday 23 April, 15h00   We'll kill Wits with Italian football!    Matshidisho Nelly - Free State Stars supporter   "It is a quarter-final for Ea Lla Koto at home… this is ours! We are marching into the semi-finals. I am not even worried about Bidvest Wits. We have so many players that can hurt them. Danny Venter can score, Sello Japhta can cause real damage and (Lucky) Mohomi is the best! With our new coach, Giovanni Solinas, we are hard to beat. We'll kill Wits with Italian football!"   I'm nervous…   Mpho Ramahlo - Bidvest Wits supporter   "Free State Stars are like our hoodoo team as we often don't do well against them, so I am a bit nervous, to be honest. They've also knocked us out in cup games, the recent one being the Telkom Knockout. We have to do a lot better in this quarter-final. The good thing is we have many good players. We have quality and are not a one-player team. I believe we will do a professional job and not underestimate them because of the league table positons."   Polokwane City v Baroka FC   Old Peter Mokaba Stadium Sunday 24 April, 15h00   It's a big match for Limpopo   Surprise - Polokwane City fan   "We're heading through to the finals! We are very happy for this match as it doesn't happen often that Limpopo witnesses a derby in a cup match. We would have loved to have met Baroka in the final because it would be guaranteed that we'd go through, but it's a big match for Limpopo's people. It's a reminder that we have quality here. At the end of the day, our province will be the winners regardless of which team wins, but I predict 3-1 to us will be the final scoreline."   We're already in the final!    Thabo Mohoa - Baroka FC supporter   "Polokwane City won't be a problem! We're already in the final. It does not matter who we play in the semi-finals. I already see Baroka in the final! Polokwane won't even get a single goal. We will knock them out 2–0. We will kill them slowly… one goal in the first half, another one in the second half."