Tornado look to sweep away Kaizer Chiefs

Third-tier club Tornado FC will welcome Kaizer Chiefs for a ‘David v Goliath’ Nedbank Cup last 32 match at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium on Sunday, 27 January 2019.

Kick-off is at 3pm CAT.

The Eastern Cape ABC Motsepe team will be making their third appearance in the Nedbank Cup proper, having last competed in the main draw in 2015. In that year, with a team coached by legendary former player Jerry ‘Legs of Thunder’ Sikhosana, they were beaten 4-0 by Orlando Pirates. They also appeared in the 2005 Absa Cup, reaching the last 16, where they beaten 8-0 by SuperSport United.

This time around they face the other Soweto heavyweight in the form of Kaizer Chiefs, and Tornado’s players will be keen to make a name for themselves. The team is led by coach Tshepo Motsoeneng – a former top flight goalkeeper for the likes of AmaZulu, SuperSport United, Free State Stars and Chippa United.

Motsoeneng led the club to the ABC Motsepe playoffs at the end of last season and Tornado narrowly missed out on promotion to the National First Division. The 39-year-old left the third-tier team late last year for Chippa, but he has since returned and will be at the helm for this high-profile encounter.

Chiefs come into the game on the back of a disappointing 2-1 loss at home to Zesco United in the CAF Confederation Cup last weekend, a result which saw them exit the continental competition in the playoff round (before the group stage).

The Amakhosi boast an unrivalled pedigree in the Nedbank Cup, having won the competition a record 13 times. Last year they got as far as the semifinals before falling at the hands of eventual champions Free State Stars.

Despite this being Chiefs’ sixth game in the space of 22 days, coach Ernst Middendorp says he will not be tempted into making wholesale changes to his starting XI.

“I think we’ll be sending the wrong message if we try a different goalkeeper and different players that have never been in the squad [in recent games],” explained the German tactician, who won this competition with Chiefs in 2006.

“This will already show that we take the match lightly, and we don’t. Of course, we have some players who at the moment we need to clean up with a little bit.

“One player is definitely not available for us – Mario Booysen, for example, is getting some specific treatment on an issue he’s had for several weeks.

“Of course, we are not taking him but each and everybody else that is fully available will be on the field, and we’ll send the right message by fielding the so-called ‘best XI’ and showing that we take the match seriously.”