OPINION – So long Pirates and Sundowns. The Nedbank Cup-sets continue
· Citizen
Oh how the mighty have fallen. Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates joined Kaizer Chiefs on the Nedbank Cup scrapheap this weekend, leaving the tournament as wide open as it has been for some time.
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Pirates and Chiefs gone, new finalists
There will be new winners in 2026, and new finalists after Chiefs took down Pirates in last year’s showpiece at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
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That match was a sponsors’ dream as the two most popular sides in the country clashed for the country’s most prestigious piece of knockout silverware.
There may have been some gasps of frustration from the bean-counters as Chiefs fell to Stellenbosch in the last 32, and Sundowns and Pirates disappeared from view this past Saturday of shocks.
But this is what the Nedbank Cup is supposed to be about, especially in the case of Casric Stars. The Motsepe Foundation Championship side provided the fairytale of the last 16 as they stunned Betway Premiership leaders Pirates on penalties at the Orlando Amstel Arena.
Casric are doing well in the Championship but no one could really have foreseen this win over a Buccaneers side that have been the kings of knockout football over the last few years.
Jose Riveiro’s Pirates won three MTN8 titles and two Nedbank Cup’s between 2022 and 2024, that incredible run only falling at the last hurdle against Chiefs last year.
Abdeslam Ouaddou’s Pirates picked up where Riveiro left off, winning the 2025 MTN8 and even capturing the one piece of knockout silverware that had eluded Riveiro – the Carling Black Label Knockout.
Brilliant Casric
But Casric put up a brilliant performance on Saturday, even if at times they rode their luck. Casric goalkeeper Wandile Mthombeni produced some brilliant saves, and the storyline of the match as it emerged that he is actually a Pirates fan!
It will be interesting to see now how far Casric can go towards emulating TS Galaxy, who won the competition as a Championship side in 2019.
Speaking of Galaxy, their 2-0 win over Sundowns on Saturday was another shock – the Rockets have been struggling in the Betway Premiership this season.
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Suddenly Galaxy, along with AmaZulu, Golden Arrows, Sekhukhune United and Durban City are the only Premiership sides left in the cup and those five have to be the favourites. But watch out for Casric!