Miss is like asking for transfer - Gavin

The Nedbank Cup was characterised by lots of drama, but what was witnessed at the Bidvest Stadium was a shocker.

Wits goalkeeper Moeneeb Josephs denied Danny Venter several times and Wits’ best chance of the match to seal the win was presented to Fikru Tefera.

Just when it looked easier to score than to miss, the Ethiopian striker fluffed the chance, much to coach Gavin Hunt’s disgust.

“It was a frustrating night for us, the first half it should have been comfortable,” said Hunt.

“The famous Harry Redknapp would say the player wants to ask for the transfer. I won’t say what I really think but you can’t miss from there,” added Hunt.

The incident that Hunt was referring to happened in the 13th minute of extra time but Wits went on to win the match 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out after 120 minutes of football ended goalless.

Diski finalists out to make history

University of Pretoria and Mamelodi Sundowns will face off in the MultiChoice Diski Challenge final at the Nike Football Training Centre in Pimville, Soweto on Saturday.

The Pretoria rivals already have the honour of being the first teams to reach the final of the competition.

Each team is now chasing the record to be the first to win the Diski Challenge.

Tuks progressed to the final after their 3-2 victory on penalties against SuperSport United in Port Elizabeth. The match had finished 1-all after extra time with both goals coming in the first half.

Keeper Lebogang Ngubeni stopped one spotkick while a further two missed the target. Botshelo Mfulwane, Dikgang Ngcobo and Siphelele Luthuli converted their penalties to send Tuks through to the final.

Sundowns edged Mpumalanga Black Aces 2-1 in the second semifinal which also took place in Port Elizabeth.

Experienced midfielder Lebohang "Cheese boy" Mokoena scored either side of Judas Moseamedi's goal to seal the Brazilians' spot in the final.

While the youngsters will take much of the spotlight on the day, some of the interest will also be on the coaches of the two teams.

Tuks' Sly Mosala and his counterpart Alex Bapela chase the honour of being the first coach to lift the Diski Challenge trophy, a feat that both will undoubtedly be pleased to achieve.

Mosala was recently appointed as a joint-coach at Tuks following the departure of the long-serving mentor Steve Barker, who joined Durban-based side AmaZulu. He will be looking prove his worth having being in the senior team setup for a long time.

Bapela, who is the club's legend, has been with the development side for a couple of years and also served as an assistant coach in the senior side. The former midfielder will also see this as a chance to launch his coaching career.

GIANT KILLERS

Tuks had a tough run in the group stages of the competition where they won three matches, drew twice and also lost twice. The turnaround was during their must-win final match against Kaizer Chiefs where they duly delivered, winning the clash 3-1.

Finishing fourth in Group A, meant they were going to face Group B winners Orlando Pirates in the quarterfinals. Tuks went after conceding a first-minutes goal in the match, but they fought back and won 5-2 with Denver Mukamba scoring a brace, to continue their giant-killing act. The other goals came from Khethukuthula Zwane, Mfulwane and Mpho Maruping.

On the contrary, Sundowns had an impressive showing in the group stages and were considered one of the favourites from earlier on. They won four of their seven matches, drew twice and lost once.

They finished second in Group B with 14 points to setup a quarterfinal encounter against the highest-scoring Polokwane City, who were third in Group A. The Brazilians won 2-0 , with the goals coming from debutants left-back Katlego Babile and winger Tshepo Ntlaba, who were promoted from the Under-17 team ahead of the match.

Another motivating factor for the youngsters, will be to play the final in Soweto - the birthplace of SA football. They get a chance to follow in the footsteps of former local greats by making a name for themselves and get picked as the players to watch for in future.

The final will kick off at 12pm after the 3rd and 4th place playoff tie between SuperSport and Black Aces.

Chelsea to appeal Matic red card

Chelsea are to appeal against the red card shown to Nemanja Matic during Saturday's 1-1 Premier League draw with Burnley, according to Sky Sports.

Matic was sent off in the 70th minute at Stamford Bridge for his violent reaction to a studs-up challenge from Burnley's Ashley Barnes.

"A criminal tackle. Matic is a very lucky guy," said Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho after his midfield player escaped injury.

The 26-year-old Serbian international rushed at Barnes and pushed him to the ground but he was defended by his manager.

"Football is about emotions and clearly Nemanja Matic had a reason to lose his emotions," Mourinho said.

"What are the consequences of his push? Nothing. The consequence for Matic from the tackle? It could have been the end of his career."

Chelsea must submit their appeal to the FA by 1300 GMT on Tuesday. Unless it succeeds, Matic will miss Sunday's League Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley.

He will also be banned for Premier League matches against West Ham United and Southampton.

Suarez to return to England in style

Luis Suarez will have another chance to justify the massive fee Barcelona paid for him Tuesday when he returns to England to face Manchester City in the Champions League round of 16

The history of football is full of players weighed down by a massive price tag, and this is currently the case with Luis Suarez.

Tuesday will see Suarez return to England for the first time since his July move from Liverpool to Barcelona, to face Manchester City in a Champions League round of 16 first leg.

Barca raised eyebrows by paying Liverpool a club record fee of 81 million euros (92.2 million dollars) for Suarez in July, just days after Fifa had hit the Uruguay striker with a four-month ban for biting at the World Cup.

"It was a surprising signing, to say the least," commented Catalan radio RAC1.

"To buy a player with his record of controversy, with a long ban from Fifa, and for such a high fee, was a very questionable move."

Suarez was unable to make his Barca debut until October 25 and his debut was a game to forget - a 3-1 Clasico defeat at Real Madrid.

Even so, the Barca fans could hardly wait to see Suarez link up with fellow South Americans Lionel Messi and Neymar, in what was billed as "el Tridente de la Gloria" - "the Trident of Glory."

Well, four months later and the fans are still waiting. Messi and Neymar have done well so far this season, but Suarez is looking increasing frustrated and irritated at his lack of goals.

Suarez has scored just seven goals for Barca in 22 appearances - hardly the statistics of a top-line striker with a heavy price tag.

While it is true that he has sometimes linked up well with Messi and Neymar, laying on goals for them, Suarez knows that he will ultimately be judged by his goals tally.

"Things have not been easy for me in the past eight months," he said recently.

"Not being able to play for four months was very difficult, to say the least...But now things are improving, and I am adapting to Barca's style of play little by little."

That didn't seem to be the case on Saturday, when he turned in another frustrated, barren and angry display in the 1-0 home defeat against Malaga, in which the most infamous teeth in football were once again gnashing in anger.

A return to England Tuesday might be just what Suarez needs to get back among the goals. After all, he banged in 82 goals in 133 matches for Liverpool in all competitions, between 2010 and 2014.

Suarez always seems to enjoy playing against English defences. He tore England apart virtually single-handedly at the 2014 World Cup, scoring both of Uruguay's goals in their 2-1 defeat of Roy Hodgson's team.

This is why Suarez can hardly wait for Tuesday's clash in Manchester.

Dike warns Eaglets against SA

Former Golden Eaglets coach, Alphonsus Dike has called for caution in the side's semifinal clash against the Amajimbos of South Africa.

The reigning world champions will challenge the South Africans for a place in the final of the ongoing African Under-17 Championship in Niger Republic on Wednesday at the General Seyni Kountche in Niamey.

Eaglets garnered seven points to top Group A while South Africa finished second in Group B behind Mali.

Dike said Eaglets must be at their very best on match day to be able to outsmart equally good South African side.

“Unarguably, South Africa are good side, the country’s football has been on the upward rise in recent time.

“It’ll certainly be a difficult encounter for both sides but the side that persevere and maintain 100% concentration will go home victorious.

“That means Eaglets must be 100% careful in their approach to the game as well as remain at their very best.

“I believe Eaglets will win at the end of the day but they must not underrate the opponents or lose even a second concentration.

“Absolute concentration is the watchword throughout the duration of the encounter,” said the former Enugu Rangers coach to supersport.com.

Dike however is uncomfortable with the head coach, Emmanuel Amuneke reported outburst that World Cup ticket is key as far as the cadet championship is concerned.

“The comment is capable of making the players complacent especially in semifinal clash against South Africa.

“The coach needs to quickly work on the players’ morale and psyche as the championship title is worth winning in addition to the World Cup ticket.

“Eaglets should win the title and head to the world stage as African champions, it’ll give them added respect at the global arena,” said the former Nasarawa United coach.

The semifinalists at the African Under-17 Championship have automatically qualified to fly the continent flag at the 2015 Fifa Under-17 World Cup in Chile.

History against ailing Usuthu

If AmaZulu are to pull off a surprise victory against Mamelodi Sundowns and edge towards safety in the Absa Premiership on Tuesday then they will have to go against recent history.

Usuthu have endured a torrid time against The Brazilians with no wins in their previous 10 meetings, which included a humiliating 7-1 loss last season.

Sundowns have won six of those last 10 games, with the other four drawn, while overall AmaZulu have just six wins in 52 previous league meetings with Sundowns in the past 30 years.

It all makes for dismal reading, especially following the 2-1 Nedbank Cup Last 32 loss to second-tier Lamontville Golden Arrows on Friday night that plunged the club into further crisis.

Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane is not buying into history though and says he expects a stern challenge from the Durban club.

"AmaZulu are a team at the moment going through adversity. They are going through difficult times,” Mosimane said.

"There is two ways the game could go against AmaZulu. It's either they will come fighting with hope to get something and keep the team alive.

"You saw the game against Pirates, they scored first and Pirates equalised and had to win in the 90th minute through a Kermit Erasmus goal.

"That's the game that is in my system. The game against Arrows is not in my system and we will not see that game but the typical game against Pirates where they have to survive.”

There is definitely one man AmaZulu will have to be wary of – Sundowns striker Cuthbert Malajila who has now scored three goals in two matches against Usuthu this season, having also netted in that 7-1 romp last season.

AmaZulu are currently bottom of the Absa Premiership table, 10 points away from safety.

Strikers worry Stars coach Phiri

Free State Stars coach Kinnah Phiri has vowed to work on his side’s finishing ahead of their Absa Premiership clash against Maritzburg United on Saturday.

Ea Lla Koto bowed out of the Nedbank Cup on Saturday after a penalty shoot-out defeat at BidVest Wits in a game in which they had more than enough chances to win.

Since returning from the festive season break, Stars have been involved in three draws and Phiri believes they might have won them all had they been more proficient in front of goal.

“We are going to work on our finishing this week. One day when the chances are taken we are going to really punish a team,” Phiri said. “The guys are very confident and motivated. Our defence has improved a lot and we managed to keep a clean sheet against Wits.

“The performance was very good. The boys worked hard, played well and created a lot of chances. I feel that we deserved to win [against Wits].

“The only problem was the finishing. We broke through on their goal twice and both times the goalkeeper managed to save. We did everything right. The boys gave their all and they followed instructions properly.”

Phiri says the match against Maritzburg will be another stern challenge against one of the toughest defences in the league.

“We are going to prepare well. We have played three games so far and we have not lost a game. We have created many chances but just not made use of them,” the veteran Malawian coach said.