Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Neo Maema says they are aiming to do better than their first-round exit of the inaugural Carling Knockout last season.
Maema played 74 minutes in one of the most heated games of the season where TS Galaxy dumped them out of the competition on penalties 5-4 after the game finished 1-1 and Bongani Zungu received a straight red card for a leg-breaking tackle on Bernard Parker.
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It was the start of a heated public feud between Sead Ramovic and then head coach Rulani Mokwena, and the Rockets went on all the way to the final, losing to Stellenbosch.
“Yeah definitely, that’s what we’re hoping for, that’s what we want, we’re playing at home, it’s the most important thing,” Maema said.
“Because with the schedule that’s coming up, we’re hoping to play more games in cup competitions at home, we’re looking forward to playing Golden Arrows.”
With an unpredictable Arrows scheduled to travel to Tshwane to face Sundowns, there’s been suggestions that the competition might be a chance to rotate the squad, but Maema brushed off the notion it’s less important than any other the seven competitions they will compete for this season.
“Not that I know of, they haven’t told me anything like that [one competition is more important than another one] we play every game to win, every competition to win, and whether the competition comes before the other, that’s out of our control,” he said.
“All we can do is take one game at a time and that’s going to be the perfect start for us.”