PIC: University of Pretoria coach Tlisane Motaung

University of Pretoria have the unenviable task of hosting Mamelodi Sundowns in their Nedbank Cup quarterfinal at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on Friday night (KO 19h00), but far from fearing their illustrious opponents, they see it as a fantastic opportunity to learn and grow.
Sundowns have never lost to lower league opposition in the Nedbank Cup, winning their last 20 games against teams from outside the DStv Premiership, scoring 75 goals and conceding five.

It would then be a huge shock were AmaTuks be able to pull off a win, but riding high in the Motsepe Foundation Championship and a contender for promotion, they have form and confidence behind them. 
“They (the players) see this as an opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the great players on the continent but I don’t doubt any of the players because they are looking forward to this wonderful opportunity,” AmaTuks coach Tlisane Motaung said, adding the club’s run to the final of the 2009 Nedbank Cup, while also campaigning in the second-tier, put several of their players on the radar of bigger clubs.

“They are aware that this opportunity can change their lives. Andile Jali, Aubrey Ngoma and Mthokosizi Yende, who were unknown at the time, used this platform (the Nedbank Cup). Our players see this as an opportunity to be counted.
Motaung is under no illusions as to the task at hand for his team against the best side in the country who have won the Nedbank Cup in two of the last four years.

“A team like Sundowns rotate the ball and where the ball is, they have numbers. The questions will always be, ‘what do you do when you win the ball? In the middle of the park, how do you close the space so they don’t get those half-spaces?

“When you have a standard situation, what do you do, how do you impose yourself in those situations? There are a few things we have identified that if we can execute them on the day, we give ourselves a 50-50 chance of competing in the game.

“Otherwise, they are a difficult team. If you want to be physical, they will respond. I have maximum respect for (Sundowns head coach) Rulani Mokwena and the rest of the technical team, including (assistant coach) Manqoba Mngqithi. I know they pay attention to detail, so it is for us is to learn and assess ourselves.”
Motaung will be without two of his stalwart players this season, strikers Promise Mkhuma and Thabang Sibanyoni, who are both on loan from Sundowns. The terms of their loan agreement means they cannot play against their parent club.

Sibanyoni in particular has been in superb touch with eight goals this season, including in the last round of the Nedbank Cup against Moroka Swallows. 

“It is a big loss given how he has been doing for us; he has been critical in terms of where we are in the league,” Motaung said of Sibanyoni.

“We would have loved to have him but the reality is we know about the loan agreements. That agreement was there before we even had him on the training ground and we are not really going to focus or worry ourselves on that.

“We see this as a platform to give other players an opportunity to demonstrate what they are capable of. It is not only him, Promise Mkhuma is also not going to participate in this match and we respect that.”

AmaTuks have never beaten Sundowns in 10 previous meetings (D3 L7). This would be the perfect time to do so as they seek a first Nedbank Cup semifinal since they reached the decider under coach Steve Barker 15 years ago.