Perfect final for everyone

There can have been few outside of Athlone and Lamontville voicing too many complaints this weekend, as Orlando Pirates and Bidvest Wits emerged as Telkom Knockout finalists.

From a sponsors point of view, this was comfortably the most marketable encounter from the last four, and even from an aesthetic perspective, a face-off between the Clever Boys and Buccaneers whets the appetite in a way Santos and Golden Arrows cannot manage.

Santos play a brand of football that drips anaesthetic into the veins, and it backfired against Wits on Sunday afternoon.

The Cape side did miss a glorious first half chance (on the counter-attack, of course) to take the lead through Jonathan Armogam, but they only made a concerted attempt to take the game to the Clever Boys when they were 2-0 down. Too little, too late. The moniker of the People’s Team takes on an ironic nuance when the side plays a brand of the game that is so unpopular in so many eyes.

As for Arrows, they perfected the art of shooting yourself in the foot against Pirates on Saturday night. Muhsin Ertugral’s side were well in the game when Mzuvukile Tom decided to inexplicably amble around in circles on the edge of his own penalty area. Ertugral directed plenty of ire afterwards at goalkeeper Helton da Rocha, who was certainly involved in the mix-up that led to Thulasizwe Mbuyane’s goal, but it was Tom, an experienced left-back, who should shoulder much of the blame - he had no less than three chances to clear the ball before Mbuyane intervened.

Still, as I have said, it has produced a potentially perfect result for those in search of a gripping final.

Pirates, looking for another knockout trophy, should certainly draw a healthy crowd, with the Premier Soccer League sufficiently encouraged to take the game to the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.

To any eyebrows raised at the prospect of two Gauteng teams playing in Durban, it is hardly a novelty (the 2009/10 Telkom Knockout semi-final, the 2010 MTN8 final, to name but two), and it does tend to produce excellent crowds.

From a marketing prospective, it makes perfect sense. There is also the small matter of COP17, which concludes on December 9, the day before the final. So don’t be surprised to see President Zuma and other government ministers extending their stay in Durban.

As I have said, they, and everyone else could be in for a cracker. Pirates will be seeking revenge for their 3-1 Absa Premiership defeat to Wits, but they’ll have to be right on their game against Roger de Sa’s bright young Clever Boys. - The Star