Terence Mashego of Durban City FC during the 2026 Nedbank Cup Final with assistant coach Ashraf Hendricks putting players through their paces at Howard College on Wednesday.
Image: BackpagePix
The Durban City training camp was in high spirits ahead of their first Nedbank Cup final against TS Galaxy on Saturday.
Former Moroka Swallows defender and Assistant Coach at City - Ashraf Hendricks said taking the cup back to KwaZulu-Natal after 17 years would be a great accomplishment for the club.
Club Chairman Farook Kadodia was also at training on Wednesday while coach Pitso Dladla was nowhere to be seen. Regardless, the team still went over their drills and prepared to go the distance on Saturday.
With R7 million in prize money on the line, a chance to play at the CAF Confederation Cup next year and their name on the oldest cup in South Africa would be a job well done for the blue submarines from Durban.
"I think all the boys know what's on the line. It's been 17 years since a team from KZN won it and we want to make sure that ends on Saturday.
"The CAF thing was not something we prepared for as a club but now its one of the things that is on our objective list and its something we would like to have.
"To be part of Africa, like Sundowns and Stellenbosch, we also want to be a part of that. Not just be a part but also experience and learn from it," Hendricks said.
While City go into the final from a rough patch in the league, both players and coach Hendricks have strong belief that will have no impact on their cup outing. Their mentality is kill or be killed.
City also have a firing forward in Jean Lwamba — who scored 3 goals in his last 2 matches. With their back four returning to its usual combination as well, City look to be a formidable force for Galaxy, but again, its a final.
"Odds and those things mean nothing when it comes to a cup final. Its all about who wants it more and I think that's the mentality we need to get into the team," said Hendricks.
"We can't go in there thinking this is an easy game and we already won. We need to go in and be ready for 90 minutes or 120 minutes to win the game."