Summerfield Dynamos head coach Clinton Larsen says the fact that his side has qualified for the last 32 round of the Nedbank Cup is already a big achievement, Lethabo Kganyago reports.
The Kwa-Zulu Natal ABC Motsepe based side qualified for the David vs Goliath Cup for the first time ever and were drawn with GladAfrica Championship side Uthongathi FC.
This encounter is scheduled for Friday 11 February at the Princess Magogo stadium. Larsen admits he was happy to have not drawn any big Premier Soccer League side at this stage saying that should give Dynamos a fair chance at competing.
“I won’t say favourable, maybe if it was a fellow ABC team I’d say yes it’s favourable but it’s an NFD team. But what we were happy about and celebrated about was the fact that we didn’t face any of the big three, because we are a small club. As much as we’d like to play them at some point, the last 32 round is a little early for that. We were really happy when we didn’t draw one of those big PSL teams, just to have a slight chance to be competitive in that game,” Larsen told iDiski Times.
Dynamos are on the brink of qualifying for the ABC Motsepe League national playoffs while Uthongathi currently sits in fourth position on the Championship log with 28 points from 17 matches. Ahead of the Cup game the former Bloemfontein Celtic, Chippa United and Polokwane City mentor is aware of what Uthongathi are capable.
“We are facing an Uthongathi team that is very strong. They have been in the top five the entire season in the NFD and that speaks volumes about the consistency, and also about the good work done by Philani Shange and the head coach Papi Zothwane. We are expecting a very tough game. We have played them twice in friendly matches so we know a little bit about them and we are just looking forward to the occasion. Just being in the last 32 the club has made history already so anything beyond this will just be a bonus.”
So far University of Pretoria and Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila (TTM) have qualified for the last 16 round of the competition from the lower divisions, following defeats to Chippa United and Golden Arrows respectively. Meanwhile Larsen is also of the opinion that Dynamos’ league business will not make it difficult for them to concentrate on the cup.
“The league is almost won, two more wins and we win the league. So I don’t see no problem of playing in the Nedbank cup and as well as the league. If we were halfway through the league we’d have to worry you know, trying to balance the two and prioritising, and that’s not the case. We only need to win two out of three games to wrap this up, it might be even earlier should we win and our opponents lose, this coming week we might be crowned stream champions. So for me there is absolutely no conflict between the two competitions”
Larsen’s squad boosts the likes of Deolin Mekoa, Njabulo Nene, Sandile Zuke, Lucky Nguzana and Samuel Darpoh who the coach says have done well in leading the youngsters in the team.
Larsen is also confident some of the youngsters in the side will surprise a lot of people in the Cup competition.
Story by Lethabo Kganyago (@ngwanamogoto).
