An unkind draw for the ‘Davids’ of the lucrative Nedbank Cup
JOBURG - The last-16 draw of the Nedbank Cup has been unkind to minnows of the football game.
The Nedbank Cup last-16 draw was unkind to the teams that play in the lower leagues.
These teams will have their work cut out if they want to progress to the quarterfinals of the country’s most lucrative cup competition, which boasts prize money of R11,2 million for the winner from a whopping R20,3 million that will be shared among the 32 teams taking part.
All the teams from the lower leagues have been drawn against the giants of South African football who ply their trade in the prestigious Premier Soccer League. The minnows’ survival to progress to the quarterfinals will take a David versus Goliath slaying, the nickname of the cup.
Two of the toughest giant-killing acts will have to come from the Eastern Cape’s Bees FC, which ply their trade in the ABC Motsepe League when they collide with former African champions Mamelodi Sundowns, and National First Division (NFD) side Stellenbosch which take on the Soweto Glamour Boys Kaizer Chiefs.
In other tough draws, NFD side Royal Eagles take high-riding Maritzburg United while their fellow KwaZulu-Natal premiership side AmaZulu will come face to face with Cape Town side Ubuntu Cape Town.
NFD outfit Richards Bay will take on hard-running Bloemfontein Celtic while Steenberg United will entertain a tricky Baroka FC, which has over the years taken on the tag of being the masters of giant-killing acts when they were still playing in the NFD.
The only clashes involving premiership sides are those of Orlando Pirates up against their former striker-turned coach, Benni McCarthy of Cape Town City FC, and the rejuvenated Free State Stars taking on the fast and stylish Chippa United.
