Richards Bay coach Kaitano Tembo has declared that the Carling Knockout Cup is up for grabs looking at the teams left in the semi-finals who are standing in his side’s way.
Tembo says they have a huge chance to see their name etched in history books, in what is just their second season in top-flight football.
Bay reached this stage of the competition after they beat Moroka Swallows in the round of 16 before knocking Orlando Pirates out in the quarter-final on penalty shootouts.
They host Stellenbosch FC at King Zwelithini Stadium on Saturday (15:00), with the other semis contested by AmaZulu hosting TS Galaxy on Sunday (15:00) in Durban.
The final will take place also in Durban at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on 16 December.
“It is always important to put it there and the players can see what we can achieve by reaching the final,” Tembo told iDiski Times at the training venue on Tuesday at Empangeni.
“The players have done well so far and I haven’t really had any issues but it has been commitment and the work ethic has been good. They have really worked hard to where we are and credit should go to the players.”
Bay has been aided by the luck of the draw as all their matches have been played at home and that has added advantage and also a disadvantage because they have to double their effort to please their fans.
Tembo, whose side is battling in second last place at the table in the DStv Premiership with 10 points after 13 matches – seven ahead of bottom side Cape Town Spurs, says if they can survive the chop and win the Carling, it would be the greatest achievement and it is something that can be doable.
“It would be a brilliant season,” said Tembo, who won the cup in the 2014/15 season with SuperSport United when he was the assistant coach of Gordon Igesund.
“(To win this cup) would change our season in terms of confidence going to our league matches because it is also important that we start moving away from where we are and I think this cup will help us in terms of that.
“You can see we are getting points here and there. In the last two games, we got four points – we beat Spurs and drew with Pirates, so there is a little bit of progress there.”
