When a PSL official was questioned at the time how the draw for this weekend’s Absa Cup quarterfinals had fallen neatly into place to pave the way for the first truly high-profile final since the competition’s inception, the bland reply suggested it was due to CEO Trevor Phillips’ ”magic hand”.
Magic hand or not, the spadework to pave the way for glamour clubs Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns to qualify for the semifinals and go on to provide the PSL with a much-desired final between two of these clubs has been well and truly enacted.
Indeed, there should be no hitches as far as Sundowns and Pirates are concerned, with accommodating games against the lower division Young Tigers and Hanover Park in the offing.
Two out of three might not be a bad average for the PSL if Pirates and Sundowns make it to the semifinals, but what the PSL — and no doubt the sponsors too — would truly like to see materialise is that Amakhosi ease their way into the final.
And, what better way to wipe out the memories of the recent low-key Absa Cup finals than one in which Chiefs are pitted against Pirates?
Leopards, of course, are the immediate obstacle — and Sundowns and other teams still in the quarterfinals might have something valid to say about such a promotional dream.
The Leopards showed in the recent Premier League game against Pirates that they have the credentials to test Chiefs to the limit and turn Saturday night’s game at FNB Stadium into a tense and absorbing battle.
Pirates travel to Cape Town to face the competition’s Cinderalla side, Hanover Park, at Green Point on Sunday night and Sundowns face Bloemfontein’s Young Tigers at Seisa Ramabodu Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Classic-Santos tie at the Harry Gwala Stadium in Maritzburg on Saturday afternoon promises to be an intriguing struggle between two Premier League teams who have high ambitions of making progress until the final hurdle in this lucrative competition.
But the overriding fascination of the quarterfinals remains the Chiefs-Leopards clash — and how well the PSL’s ”magic hand” has ultimately operated. – Sapa