Power to the minnows

The running joke on Twitter this week was that if Bafana Bafana had played Powerlines, Sundowns’ now infamous 24-0 Nedbank Cup victims, the game would still have finished in a goalless draw!

I’d actually fancy Bafana to put at least one past Powerlines, who took ex-Chelsea coach Andre Villas Boas’ high line to new extremes on Sunday in Kimberley.

In fact, if there is a job vacancy at Powerlines soon, perhaps AVB should consider applying ...

Hlompo Kekana, a defensive midfielder by trade, suddenly turned super-scorer, banging in seven goals, while Zimbabwean marksman Nyasha Mushekwi was not far behind with six.

Both would have been forgiven for banging on the doors of the offices of the competition organisers yesterday and demanding a reason as to why there is not a top goalscorer award (this is the only Premier Soccer League competition in which such a prize is not available).

The appropriate response may well be that personal reward is not granted for the humiliation of cannon fodder. But these kind of stories are a part of what make the Nedbank Cup such a special entity; where a goalkeeper who has just conceded 24 goals can still come out and confidently declare that he wants to play for Kaizer Chiefs!

At the other end of the scale are the giant-killings (this, to create a new footballing term, was a minnow-mauling).

The Nedbank Cup has seen its share of these in the last few years, with University of Pretoria and Black Leopards both making the final, while few could forget Baroka FC’s run of last year, past Moroka Swallows and Kaizer Chiefs, with Sello Chokoe and his infamous glove.

This year’s tournament has yet to see the underdog have his day, though many sides did far better than the powerless Powerlines.

Batau FC gave SuperSport United the fright of their life, taking Gavin Hunt’s men all the way to penalties. SuperSport, for all their league success, have done really poorly in the cups under Gavin Hunt, and perhaps this was the change of luck they needed.

I was at FNB Stadium, where Cape Town All Stars put in a determined performance against Kaizer Chiefs, but never really looked like springing as surprise, in a 3-0 defeat. Still, for a club only formed two years ago, just getting this far was a fantastic achievement. And with the financial clout of Tokyo Sexwale and Mvelaphanda Holdings behind them, this could just be a club to look out for in the not too distant future.

l Follow Jonty Mark on Twitter @jontymark