22 November 2018
Tembisa, South Africa

A slightly shorter update than planned, but after winning the CAF Champions League I just had to go to press!WHat was impressive was the manner of the victory. The boys faced an uphill battle and emerged victorious. Read on below to get the full story.

Blow by Blow

CAF Champions League Final Leg 1

Zamalek travel to the other end of Africa to face Jomo Cosmos. This should be a good match between the two top teams in our group.

The first team chose itself really. All eyes will be on Zech with Tseka due to return from injury. He should be fit enough to appear on the bench at least in the final.

Te betting people seemed to think we were underdogs. I am not so sure. We have recorded good wins against Zamalek in the group stages so we will have confidence. The first mission is to deny away goals.

What a fantastic performance. We were struggling to make inroads at first and Zamalek looked more threatening. Duarte nailed a screamer which seemed to settle things down. From there the weight of possession told and we took control of the tie with two more goals to carry a 3-0 lead with us on the road.

The match stats looked better than I felt for most of the game. In the end 70% possession was the decisive factor.

Match 8/30 – ABSA Premiership

The old foe, or at least from this season. We owe them big time following our unscheduled exit from the MTN 8 cup.

Zech is given the game off as is Duarte, however both will play in the cup match.

The media predicts a close game. I agree. There was nothing between the teams in our last meetings.

It was a close game, with the sides being  separated by a set piece goal. We dug deep and managed to hold on to the slender lead.

There was not much between the two sides. In the end one moment of brilliance made the difference.

Injury Update

The return of Tseka is a very welcome event. This sees the squad back to full strength.

Telkom Knockout Quarter Final

And back again! These back to back matches against the same opponents are tough.

Three changes from the previous match with Asante, Zech and Ali come into the side for this match.

Again we are slight favourites. Goals for the match – get the win and no injuries!

Mission accomplished, although not without some worries. I took the foot off the gas when we were 2-0 up, and was panicking when they pulled a goal back. We held our nerve and closed the game out with a late goal by Asante.

We created seven clear cut chances, and were unable to convert enough of them to make the game safe.

CAF Champions League Final Leg 2

The final game of the final! We have a three goal lead. I can’t help feeling that one away goal will be sufficient to seal the deal.

And then we get fucked over by the international break. We lost Lavet, Grigorjevs, Radzi, Muhimpundu, Duarte, Zech, Lubasa, and Kangala to their international teams – all of whom would have been starting this game. We also lost 4 backup players to the reserves team, including Ngobeni.

This is going to be some game. The loss of  nine first choice players would have hurt any squad. I am really worried.

In the end we had enough in the tank to get a draw on the night and a win overall! The first half was scoreless and I was worried each time they got posession. After the break we scored the crucial first goal that put us in the driving seat. Once the second goal went in the match was decided. They came back at us but we were always in control.

We made a game of it despite the weakened side.

CAF Champions League Champions

Nothing like a bit of hero worship!!!! I’m down with that.

Majola was top of the competetion with 11 assists – considering he was a backup player I am happy with that.

Telkom Knockout Semifinal Draw

We draw Kaizer Chiefs in the semifinal. This will be a good game as it is between us and them as to who s the best team in the country.

Match Summary

Only four matches in this episode. It seemed fitting highlight the great achievement of the boys in winning the Champions League.

League Table

Sitting in second with a game in hand. If we win the catch up game we will be top on goal difference.

Next Episode

Semi final time and also the first game in the World Club Cup, which we qualified for by winning the champions league.