Avatar photo

By Tshepo Ntsoelengoe

Football Journalist


Class is in session for Dondol in Nedbank Cup ahead of Pirates clash

'Now we are able to handle a lot of aspects better than we were doing before participating here,' said Rammoni.


Dondol Stars have taken a lot of lessons in their Nedbank Cup fairytale journey, with co-coach Vincent Rammoni stating that they realise they need to be more lethal in front of goal.

ALSO READ: Nyatama calls for consistency from Swallows after Sundowns draw

The Dondol Stars mentor says not being able to use their goalscoring chances and keeping a clean -sheet is something that they have been struggling with in the ABC Motsepe League, and playing the Ke Yona Cup has opened their eyes.

Rammoni says playing DStv Premiership sides SuperSport United and AmaZulu FC was a good lesson for them. Dondol had to fight their way back into the game against Matsatsantsa after conceding early in the game, but eventually won 2-1 in the last 32.

In the clash against Usuthu, the third tier side had to once again make their way back into the game, when Hendrick Ekstein put AmaZulu in the lead  in the second half, but, Dondol managed to level matters through Revaldo Fox on the hour-mark and went on to win the tie 5-4 on penalties to progress to the last eight of the tournament.

“I think the Nedbank Cup helped us as a technical team and our players who are featuring in our journey to gain promotion. Now we are able to handle a lot of aspects better than we were doing before participating here,” said Rammoni during a press conference at the PSL headquarters this week.

“For instance, if you check, before playing the Nedbank Cup it was so difficult to play without conceding goals in the league.”

ALSO READ: Dlamini an important player for Pirates, says Riveiro

“We were winning our matches but with a margin of 3-1, 4-1, 5-1, we were mostly conceding. So, in the Nedbank, we learned that we need to be more ruthless with the chances we created and we need to be a team that doesn’t concede goals in our matches, that’s one aspect that we learned. Because we realised how difficult it was to score against SuperSport United and AmaZulu FC.”

Dondol, who are from Pretoria, will be looking to add more lessons in their books when they host another top tier side Orlando Pirates for a place in the semifinals of the competition at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday. 

For more news your way

Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.