The Absa Cup final in Bloemfontein on Sunday will be more than just a big match for both Manning Rangers and Moroka Swallows.
Aside from the small matter of a R1,5-milion cheque for the winners, both clubs have something to prove.
For Rangers, who escaped relegation by a hair’s breadth this season, the final is their first chance to win some silverware since they lifted the inaugural Premier Soccer League (PSL) title in 1996/97.
For Swallows it will be an opportune time to give their supporters something to cheer about after they failed to mount any strong league challenge and lost the Super 8 final earlier in the season.
The Dube Birds’ trophy cabinet has been bare for 13 years — even longer than the 12 years that newly crowned PSL champions Kaizer Chiefs had to wait to win the league.
After finishing a promising fourth in the league last season, Swallows meandered to sixth this time around. Club public relations officer, Sipho Xulu said: ‘It has been too long since we last won silverware. We have done everything in our power to restore the pride of the beautiful Dube Birds. Only this cup is left for us to bring happiness to our loyal supporters.â€
The sides meet for the first time in the final of a major competition, although they have clashed in earlier rounds of knockout cups.
The first time they met was in the now-defunct Bobsave Superbowl, which saw Swallows win 2-0. They also played each other in the Rothmans Cup, where they drew 3-3 in the first leg before Swallows triumphed 2-1 in the second leg.
If cup records are anything to go by, Swallows will have the upper hand in this game.
For Rangers the road to the final was fraught with difficulty as they had to balance the cup run against trying to avoid relegation.
The Durban team does boast the two top goalscorers of the tournament, Alton Meiring and Kerryn Jordan, who have scored five goals apiece in the drive to the final.
Moroka Swallows will be very wary of these two strikers as they will be missing Greg Etafia, their best goalkeeper, who is suspended.