OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Tuesday 7.00pm.
KAIZER Chiefs face a determined Bush Bucks squad in their BobSave Super Bowl quarterfinal match in Umtata and will need to be firing on all cylinders to make the semis.
Surprise quarterfinalists Ria Stars face SuperSport United, who are odds-on favourites to move through this round to face the winner of a tougher match-up: Qwa Qwa Stars against Wits University.
Wits blew out Phoenix City 6-0 to move into the quarters and will need to retain that form against Stars, who have been more consistent this season.
Santos upset Premier Soccer League leaders Manning Rangers and are favoured to walk past Bloemfontein Young Tigers into the semifinals. The match will be held in Cape Town, and Santos will have four key players who missed the Rangers game.
Several upsets of PSL teams sparked the Last-16 round of the Super Bowl as holders Sundowns, Orlando Pirates, Rangers, AmaZulu, Moroka Swallows and Seven Stars all fell to less well-known teams.
Pirates public relations officer Kgotso Moabi said they were disappointed at slipping up so early in the competition when they were edged out on penalty shootout against Supersport United.
Pirates travel to Gaborone with a six-goal cushion to meet Botswana Defence Force in the Mandela Cup return leg clash on Saturday.
Supersport United spokesperson Ralph Peterson lauded Pirates performance and conceded the Bucs deserved to win. “I firmly believe that Supersport and Chiefs will compete this final,” Peterson predicted.
The quarterfinals (home teams named first) are: Supersport United v Ria Stars; Bush Bucks v Kaizer Chiefs; Qwa Qwa Stars v Wits University; Santos v Bloemfontein Young Tigers.
Semi-finals:
Winner Bush Bucks/Kaizer Chiefs v Santos/Bloemfontein Young Tigers
Winner Qwa Qwa Stars/Wits University v Supersport United/Ria Stars