SOCCER:Andrew Muchineripi
ALTHOUGH many have probably forgotten, it is the Coca Cola Cup final this weekend. The reason that many forget about this cup is that none of the so-called big guns has ever won the trophy, since its inception in 1992, when it was won by AmaZulu.
On Saturday Bush Bucks play QwaQwa Stars in the final at the Basil Kenyon Stadium in East London. Hopefully, the press facilities will be available for the people they are supposed to benefit, unlike last weekend at FNB, when part of the press box was hired out to a banking group for a private party – this during a World Cup qualifying game.
Both clubs are previous winners of the four- year-old trophy, with Bucks beating Santos 3-2 in the 1993 final, and Stars pipping another Cape side, Hellenic, 3-2 the following year.
Bucks go into the game as favourites, despite the fact that they will be without kingpin striker Wilfred Mugeyi, who is serving a three-match suspension after being sent off against AmaZulu in a league game. Yet, Mugeyi nearly burgled his way out of the matter. He was booked twice in the game by the referee, who allowed him to play on after the second booking. It was only after the AmaZulu bench alerted the whistleman that he dismissed Mugeyi.
Bucks have had the harder road to the final. In the first round they had to pull out all the stops to beat a game Vaal Professionals 1-0, the goal courtesy of nuggety midfielder Mongi Rula. In the next round a brilliant performance by Mark Anderson in goal saw them beat Orlando Pirates on penalties in a pulsating encounter.
Anderson’s save from a Helman Mkhalele penalty will be long remembered, as the Bafana Bafana reserve produced a brilliant block to take the Umtata side into the semi- final. In the semi-final it was Mugeyi who scored twice as they beat Supersport United on their cabbage patch pitch in the former homeland.
While Bucks will be without Mugeyi, Stars will be without the man who took them to the final, Zimbabwean coach Peter Nyama. He took leave of the QwaQwa club recently, and the official word was that he had come to an amicable agreement with the club, though that is a bit hard to believe.
Stars also had a tough road to the final, in the first round they become one of the few teams to beat Manning Rangers at Chatsworth, Zairean Emeka Mamale scoring the winner from the penalty spot two minutes from the end.
Mamale subsequently went awol, and returned to South Africa for the first time last week, as part of the Zairean contingent that lost to Bafana Bafana.
In the quarter-finals, Stars beat Wits 2-1 without scoring a goal. Wits incredibly scored two own goals as Stars advanced to a semi-final meeting with Sundowns. These days beating Sundowns is not such a big deal, so when Stars clinched a 1-0 victory via a Robson Muchichwa goal it passed without much fanfare.