Chiefs take on Cosmos in the Coke Cup final this weekend
Ntuthuko Maphumulo
With R1-million the difference between winning and losing the Coca-Cola Cup final, coming second will never be the same again.
The winners get R2-million while the runners-up pocket a still-hefty R1-million.
Jomo Cosmos and Chiefs will be meeting in their third cup final and hopefully it will be as memorable as the 1991 BP Top 8 final that saw Cosmos striker Philemon “Chippa” Masinga score a hat-trick and still be on the losing side 4-3.
A different crop of players will be on show but there are sure to be several who will display moments of brilliance during what is likely to be a hard-tackling encounter at FNB stadium.
Tico Tico Bucuane and Nkosinathi Nhleko of Cosmos will have to continue banging in goals as their opponents have not had much problem finding the net in the run to the final. So far Chiefs have scored eight goals and let in three, while Comos has scored seven and let in one.
Chiefs are tipped to win the cup due to their pedigree when it comes to cup competitions, but Cosmos could continue the tradition of this event being won only by underdogs.
Jomo Cosmos’s road to the final was an eye-opener. In their first game they beat Bush Bucks 1-0 and it seemed the cup run would be a low-scoring affair. Nhleko changed all that when he punished the lacklustre Supersports United defence by putting four goals past them in a 5-1 quarterfinal victory.
In disposing of Sundowns 1-0 in the semifinals two weeks ago, Cosmos avenged a loss by twice that margin at the corresponding phase of Top 8.
Chiefs were not without their own moments of brilliance. They kicked off their campaign with a double-header fixture against Hellenic where a questionable penalty gave them a 1-0 victory. In their quarter- final encounter with Manning Rangers they gained sweet revenge by beating Clive Barker’s team 3-1 the same scoreline by which another Durban side coached by Barker, Amazulu, beat them in the 1992 final.
Chiefs followed this up with one of the tournament’s showstoppers in their 4-2 semifinal victory against Santos. After racing to a 3-1 lead through a brace from Kenny Niemach and a composed, classy strike from Jabu Pule, Jean Marc Ithier responded by scoring in the dying seconds of the first half.
The second half saw Santos claw their way back with a goal from substitute Thando Mngomeni, but Josias Macamo also came off the bench and slotted the fourth goal for Chiefs five minutes from time.
Chiefs will return to FNB stadium with mixed memories. They won the Top 8 final against Sundowns there, but one of their supporters jumped to his death as he celebrated. The seats that were close to the tunnel have now been removed to ensure the safety of supporters.
There will be 64 000 tickets available, with the gates opening at 10am for a 3pm kick-off.