Maritzburg United, Free State Stars deserve fans’ respect

Tonight sees the unlikely pair of Maritzburg United and Free State Stars fighting it out for the Nedbank Cup trophy at the Cape Town Stadium.

It’s South Africa’s premier knockout football competition – the equivalent of England’s FA Cup, the final of which is also today. The winners take home a cool R7 million, while the losers still pocket R2.5 million. So there’s plenty at stake for both clubs, who often fly under the radar when it comes to the limelight.

Maritzburg, who had a dream league season where they finished in a credible fourth spot, earned their stripes in the competition as they beat Bloemfontein Celtic and league champions Sundowns along the way.

For Free State Stars, their path to the final hasn’t been as assured, needing extra time in their last-32 clash against the Super Eagles and penalties against Ubuntu Cape Town in the quarter-finals.

However, they effectively ended Steve Komphela’s reign at Kaizer Chiefs with a commanding victory over Amakhosi in the semi-finals.

For Free State Stars, a win will earn them their first piece of silverware in the top flight since winning the Coca-Cola Cup in 1994, while Maritzburg have never won silverware.

In head-to-heads, Stars have won eight times to Maritzburg’s four in 20 encounters, but the “Team of Choice” have had the edge in recent times, although both teams recorded a win over the other in this season’s league encounters.

Just a few days ago, FNB Stadium was sold out for an irrelevant friendly between Spanish glamour club Barcelona and the local league champions, Sundowns.

Early indications are that the attendance for tonight’s match will be poor.

Sure Barcelona are multiple league, cup, world and continental champions – and have a massive support base, but Maritzburg and Free State Stars deserve their place in tonight’s final. More importantly, they deserve the respect of the soccer public.

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