PIC: Oscarine Masuluke of Baroka FC

One of the most famous names in the history of the Nedbank Cup is that of Baroka FC, a club who have offered so much to the rich tapestry of the competition as a third, second and then first-tier side in South African football.
When you think of great cup upsets, perhaps the first one that comes to mind first is Baroka’s 2-1 victory over Kaizer Chiefs in the 2011 Nedbank Cup quarterfinals when the little-known Limpopo outfit campaigned in the ABC Motsepe League.

They had already beaten 2009 champions Moroka Swallows in the second round, but shot to national fame when they ousted the AmaKhosi too, before losing on penalties to Black Leopards in the semifinals.
It was a cup run that proved the springboard for the club to reach the DStv Premiership, and also launched the careers of a number of the PSL’s star names in the following decade.
But it is not only that year where they have excelled. Baroka were a second-tier side when they reached the semifinals again in 2016 and had made their way to the topflight by the time they appeared in the Last 4 for a third time in 2020.

So they are far more than a flash in the pan and have had sustained success in the Nedbank Cup for a decade, though this year they are hoping to use the tournament as another springboard to regain their place in the DStv Premiership.
Baroka were relegated from the South African topflight at the end of the 2021/22 season and have had a difficult adjustment to the second-tier, but the Nedbank Cup can bring back that confidence and swagger.
“We have to accept the situation, at the end of the day it is football and we just need to concentrate and fight to get back to the topflight. That means we need to work hard as a team,” captain and veteran goalkeeper Oscarine Masuluke says.

“It is my duty as a senior player and captain to motivate the players. We need to fight this season so we can go back to the PSL.”
Masuluke says they are targeting victory in the Nedbank Cup, despite their fall to a lower division, and are hoping to emulate the success of TS Galaxy in 2019, the only second-tier side yet to lift the coveted silverware.

“When it comes to the Nedbank Cup, if you look in the Motsepe Foundation Championship (MFC),this is the only cup competition, so we need to fight so we can win it. It is our only chance.
“It hurts seeing us in the second-tier, because the chairman (Khurishi Mphahlele) does a lot to make us happy, and we need to make him happy also. We have some of the best facilities of any team, in the PSL or the MFC.

“We promise a surprise come the end of the season, a good surprise. Watch this space.”

Baroka have a new coach in the returning Bushy Moloi, who is back for a second spell. Masuluke is confident he can bring success.

“He is a good coach and works very hard. We now need to work for him as players too.”
Baroka have been drawn away against Cape Town Spurs in this year’s Last 32.
It is a repeat of the first round in 2021, though on that occasion the game was played in Limpopo and Spurs won 5-4 on penalties following a 1-1 draw.
All three of Baroka’s matches in 2022 were played away as they got past Stellenbosch FC and TS Galaxy before losing their quarterfinal to local rivals Marumo Gallants.