Can TS Galaxy pull off biggest heist?

Football agent turned club owner Tim Sukazi cannot realistically have thought this possible when he formed the club but, under the wily hand of head coach Dan “Dance” Malasela, they have given themselves the chance to become the first National First Division team ever to win the biggest knockout trophy in South African domestic football.

Three NFD sides have reached the final of the Nedbank Cup since they took over as sponsors for the start of the 2007/8 season. In that very campaign, MP Black Aces went all the way to the showpiece event, and played admirably against the mighty Mamelodi Sundowns, who needed a wonder goal from Lerato Chabangu to seal the tie.

A year later, Pretoria University stunned Kaizer Chiefs, Bloemfontein Celtic and Ajax Cape Town en route to the showpiece event, with players like Andile Jali coming to the fore, before they were edged 1-0 in the final by Moroka Swallows.

And in 2011, Black Leopards went all the way to the final, but Ruud Krol’s treble-winning Orlando Pirates proved too much for them, beating Lidoda Duvha 3-1 at Mbombela Stadium.

Can TS Galaxy really change the script, against a Kaizer Chiefs side desperate for a trophy after three barren seasons under Steve Komphela? Chiefs will be runaway favourites, because they are the moneyed Absa Premiership giants, because of their ridiculous cup pedigree, because of the “home” atmosphere created at every game they play by their fanbase, and because they have certainly improved under German head coach Ernst Middendorp, following the disastrous, brief reign of Giovanni Solinas.

And yet, of course, all the pressure will also be on Chiefs, because they have not won in so long, and because if they fail to beat a side like TS Galaxy, they will be left with a giant pile of egg on their faces.

For Galaxy, there is a chance to simply enjoy the occasion, to put the handbrake down, if you like, and have a full go at Chiefs in the knowledge that if they get thrashed, well, they did well to make the final, and if they win, well they will have a minor miracle that no one expects.

With this in mind, to face an opponent like this may actually be far from ideal for Chiefs, who have slipped in Nedbank Cup matches to this kind of opposition before, notably Tuks in 2009 and Baroka FC in 2011, when Bakgaga were in the Vodacom League.

I do sense, however, that this Chiefs side have found a resolve under Middendorp that will prevent them from being slayed by Goliath. They showed plenty of steel to find a way back and beat Chippa United on Saturday, when heads could have dropped after they went 2-1 down to the Port Elizabeth side.

Khama Billiat, Bernard Parker Willard Katsande are wise heads that know well how to win trophies, while Dumisani Zuma is coming good and Middendorp has also, mostly, shored up Chiefs’ defensive frailties.

Still, the romance of the cup is that you just never know, and makes a tournament like the Nedbank Cup so important, as it gives a chance to these clubs to show exactly what they can do against the so-called powerhouses of the South African game.

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