Maduka has his eyes on the prize after Celtic reach MTN8 final

This time Bloemfontein Celtic head coach John Maduka wants to walk away with the MTN8 gold medal hanging on his neck and a fat R8-million cheque when he guides his side in the MTN8 final against Orlando Pirates, or possibly Kaizer Chiefs.

READ MORE: Celtic knock out champions to set up final with Soweto giants

Celtic knocked out the defending champions SuperSport United on Saturday afternoon, beating them 1-0 in the City of Roses to win the two-legged affair 2-1 in aggregate.

“It is very important for us to go out there and win the cup for the team, it has been a long time. This is our second cup final and we just hope that things go according to our plan. This is the third time we have gone into the final in recent years. We did not win in the previous two, this is the third time for us to win the cup,” said Maduka.

“We just need to go out there and focus on the game and try to make sure that we do our best. It will be very good for the team to win it, especially for a team that is run without a sponsor, it is not very easy but in the field of play the boys have been working very hard and focusing on the job at hand and this is the reward that we get. We just need to focus on the final and try to win. It will not be easy, but we have given ourselves a chance to win a cup by getting in the final,” he added.

Celtic dominated the midfield with some attractive interplay from Given Mashinkinya and Lucky Baloyi – the former provided the assist for Victor Letsoalo’s goal. Maduka praised the duo’s ability to be the bridge between defence and attack.

“We have the right balance in the midfield because most of the games are won there. The players have to make sure that whoever plays comes and gives their best and Mashikinya and Lucky have done that. Those two join in on the attack and help the defence when we are defending. I am happy to have the midfield that I have in the team. Whoever is available will play and they will do a good job because there is a lot of competition,” said the Phunya Sele Sele mentor.

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