SuperSport United are on the verge of securing a maiden continental triumph when they host TP Mazembe in their second leg Caf Confederation Cup final encounter on Saturday night.
The clash at the Lucas Moripe Stadium promises to be an absolute humdinger, but before Matsatsantsa can even think about hoisting the continental trophy proudly above their shoulders, they will need to overturn a 2-1 deficit.
However, thanks to Sipho Mbule’s sensational strike in Lubumbashi, SuperSport could be forgiven for being a little confident. The away goal gives SuperSport a slender advantage, knowing that even a 1-0 victory over the Congolese giants will be enough to write their names in the history books.
But despite all of this, SuperSport coach Eric Tinkler is unlikely to take anything for granted. Tinkler’s record in continental cup finals is less than inspiring as he has been on the losing end twice, once as assistant coach and another as head coach of Orlando Pirates, but this time around he will almost certainly want to prove his worth as he looks to steer a team past the final hurdle, and perhaps the stars are finally aligning for the 47-year-old.
SuperSport have been given a boost ahead of the clash with Reneilwe Letsholonyane returning to the fray following suspension. But this does give Tinkler a selection headache ahead of Saturday’s clash. Mbule starred in the absence of ‘Yeye’ in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and he could consider himself as being hard done by if Tinkler opts for the veteran. But at such a crucial moment in SuperSport and Tinkler’s career, the coach can be forgiven for going with his more experienced campaigners.
Tinkler though, will once again have a few of his key players missing. While Thabo Mnyamane is set to miss the clash with injury and Morgan Gould still serving his suspension, Ronwen Williams is a doubt as he is nursing an injury which could see Reyaad Pieterse takeover the gloves.
Speaking ahead of the clash, Tinkler was in a defiant mood as he stated that SuperSport will not sit back and look to score more than one goal.
“Obviously we know that we need to score. We need the one goal‚ but also from past experience of ourselves we’re not a very good team defending a 1-0 lead‚” Tinkler was quoted by Sowetan as saying.
“So we want to got out and play offensive football‚ like we did when we went there [to Lubumbashi]. Show no fear.
“We need to take risks to get ourselves back into the tie. And‚ yes‚ we know Mazembe are a team who are very good going forward,” he added.
This will be the fourth meeting between the two sides in 2017, and by now SuperSport will now know what to expect from the tournaments reigning champions. The visitors have several dangerous players within their ranks and will be wary of the threat which Adama Traore and the exciting Rainford Kalaba pose.
Nonetheless, if SuperSport are able to neutralise the Ravens attack, they will be one step closer to winning the coveted crown.