Hlompho Kekana weighs in on rotation policy ahead of Carling Knockout final

The FIFA International break is not finished yet, but both Magesi FC and Mamelodi Sundowns have already started preparing for Saturday’s Carling Knockout final. The Brazilians have eight players in the Bafana Bafana squad that will face South Sudan in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the Cape Town Stadium on Tuesday.

Namibian striker Peter Shalulile and Divine Lunga of Zimbabwe will also re-join the team later this week. Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi has already voiced his displeasure at the scheduling of the cup decider so soon after the FIFA week.

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The spotlight will be on the kind of line-up Mngqithi is likely to field against giant killers Magesi. Sundowns legend Hlompho Kekana has weighed in on which team he believes can do the job for Mngqithi at the Free State Stadium. 

“The coach (Mngqithi) and the team know that the mandate is to always win. You mentioned the line-up that they put up against Marumo Gallants (in the semifinals) and that is for me the strongest Mamelodi Sundowns team that should play,” Kekana said on Radio 2000 recently.

“They should play it because they need that momentum. Sundowns’ line-up that you saw against Gallants, it’s the line-up that should play to build momentum and fluidity in their play because they will need it in the matches that are coming. I see difficult matches that are coming and the Champions League is also coming.”

“I believe it’s still early in the season where you can rotate players but he’s (Mngqithi) speaking from the place of working with these players he knows the amount of load they put in their legs. I’m speaking from someone who’s watching the game like a fan. When I was a player I don’t think the rotation was going to do well for me because I was a player that used to play with a lot of intensity with a build-up from the previous matches.”

Magesi have ousted Orlando Pirates, TS Galaxy and Richards Bay to set up an unlikely final against Masandawana. Very few are giving the PSL minnows a chance against the Tshwane giants but Kekana have given credit to Clinton Larsen who led them to their first final in South African top-flight football.

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“They (Magesi) play nice percentage football and they don’t play a lot from the back because they know their limitations but they’re not shy to play in your half. You saw the goal they scored against Richards Bay and that’s how you play cup matches, you have to win, that’s all,” he concluded.