Kaizer Chiefs can have their own Newcastle story with the Nedbank Cup - Marks Maponyane

Kaizer Chiefs legend Marks Maponyane believes the club's hunger for silverware can be likened to that of English side Newcastle who recently broke their 70-year trophy drought. 

Tens of thousands of Newcastle United fans gathered in the city two weeks ago to celebrate the club's first domestic trophy in 70 years, with the streets turning a sea of black and white for the open-top bus parade.

About 150 000 people were expected to catch a glimpse of the League Cup that Newcastle lifted on March 16, after a 2-1 victory over Liverpool in the final at Wembley Stadium.

Whilst it’s not quite seven decades since the last trophy entered Naturena, a 10-year drought is still the longest wait for silverware the club’s fans have ever faced.

Amakhosi have the mountainous task of beating last season’s finalists and serial cup capturers Mamelodi Sundowns in the semi-finals of the Nedbank Cup, their last chance at any trophy this season. 

Set for a 6pm kick off at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium, the encounter is expected to be a sold out affair with the winner facing either defending champions Orlando Pirates or Marumo Gallants who play the other semi-final. 

Maponyane, who still holds the record for the all-time scorer at Chiefs, believes the desire to break the drought might be the incentive that pushes Chiefs past Sundowns and even go on to win the trophy.

“Chiefs is a club with a big reputation and that reputation has been tainted for too long, the club is hungry for a trophy and the fans even more,” he told Independent Newspapers. 

“You saw how Newcastle celebrated the Carabao Cup, you could see the relief of a group that has waited years for success and that’s what the Nedbank Cup means for Kaizer Chiefs while for Sundowns, it’s just one of three trophies they can still win this season.”

Amakhosi have not beaten the Brazilians in the last 13 meetings between the two sides. 

Their last four encounters saw Chiefs concede 12 goals and score three on their way to four losses in all competitions.

However, Maponyane feels Chiefs have progressed under head coach Nasreddine Nabi and more specifically when it comes to games against Sundowns. 

“There's growth and I’ll tell you why. They lost 5-1 (last season), 4-0 and the last one (league encounter) was a one goal margin and there was a plan. They have narrowed the gap in terms of how to approach this type of game and now they have to show that they can be better than Sundowns," said Maponyane.

Pressure is seemingly mounting on Nabi with a four-game winless run and a huge risk of missing out of the top eight for a second season running.

However, Maponyane believes the attention is being placed on the wrong man with the club having gone through eight different coaches in the past 10 years. 

When asked whether a Nedbank Cup exit might lead to the sacking of Nabi, he admitted it wouldn’t surprise him but the club has to also look at their recruitment strategy. 

“It could add to the decision makers, has there ever been the right man at Chiefs with the last eight coaches? The question for the club should be - are they bringing the right players in order to execute their plans?,” he said.