The first piece of silverware in the 2020-21 Premier Soccer League season will be up for grabs on Saturday when Bloemfontein Celtic take on Orlando Pirates at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
Catch the action live on SuperSport and live streaming through DStv and Shwomax.
It is a chance for a rare trophy success for Celtic, while Pirates can break a six-year drought, one of the longest in the club’s illustrious history.
Here are 13 things you should know ahead of the decider.
THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM
This will be just the third time Orlando Pirates and Bloemfontein Celtic have clashed in the MTN8 competition since the formation of the National Soccer League in 1985. The first was in the semifinals in 2005 when Celtic ran out 5-3 winners on penalties following a 1-1 draw. They went on to beat Pitso Mosimane’s SuperSport United 1-0 in the decider. The second clash was a quarterfinal in 2012 as Andile Jali netted a penalty to settle the contest in Pirates’ favour.
WE MEET AGAIN…
These two sides have already clashed this season in the DStv Premiership, with Pirates claiming a 1-0 win following Siphelele Ndlovu’s goal after 78 minutes. That match was in the Free State on 4 November and is one of three league defeats for Celtic already this season.
REMARKABLE RUN
Pirates have been on a superb run of form that coincides with the arrival of German coach Josef Zinnbauer. They have lost just twice in their previous 29 games in all competitions, dating back just a little over a year.
Those defeats were in league matches against Kaizer Chiefs (1-0, 29 February) and Cape Town City (1-0, 23 August). Their Achilles heel has been too many draws.
Since the start of March 2020, they have played 17 matches, with eight draws, eight wins and a single loss.
When Pirates conceded twice to Cape Town City in a 2-2 draw this past weekend, it was the first time they had let in two goals in a league game since a 2-2 draw with Baroka FC in December 2019, the last game in charge for former coach Rhulani Mokwena. They have played 23 league games since then.
A TSHWANE ‘DOUBLE’
Celtic’s path to the MTN8 final this season has included a ‘Tshwane Double’. They defeated Mamelodi Sundowns 1-0 in the quarterfinals, before a 2-1 aggregate win over SuperSport United (1-1 & 1-0). Their goals this season have been scored by Victor Letsoalo (two) and Ndumiso Mabena.
THIRD TIME LUCKY?
This will be Celtic’s second domestic cup final in a row after they also appeared in the 2020 Nedbank Cup decider at the end of last season, On that occasion, they lost 1-0 to Sundowns at the Orlando Stadium, but will hope to have learned the lessons from that defeat. They also appeared in the 2017 Telkom Knockout decider but lost 1-0 to BidVest Wits.
A RICH HISTORY
These two sides have met on 78 previous occasions since the formation of the National Soccer League in 1985. Pirates have dominated with 40 wins to Celtic’s 17, with a further 21 games drawn. The Buccaneers also lead the scoring stakes with 109 to Celtic’s 69.
The teams have also met in 13 cup games in that time, of which Pirates have won seven to just two for Celtic. There have also been four draws. The two outright Celtic wins were in the JPS Knockout first round in 1998 (3-0) and the Nedbank Cup last 16 in 2009 (2-1).
THE LONG WAIT …
Pirates have gone nine years without lifting the MTN8 trophy after their previous success in 2011. That is closing in on their longest barren run in the competition's history, which is 10 years (1983-1993 & 2000-2010).
They have twice reached the finals since their last win, in 2013 when they were beaten on penalties by Platinum Stars, and 2014 when they went down 1-0 to Chiefs.
In fact, Pirates have gone six years without winning a trophy of any sort, which is close to the unwanted club record when they won no silverware between the 2002-03 Premier League title and the 2010 MTN8. They have played in five finals since winning the Nedbank Cup in 2014 and lost all of them.
BREAKING HIS DUCK
Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer is seeking a first major trophy win of his career and will have been in charge of the team for a year and two days when the final takes place on Saturday. Likewise, Celtic coach John Maduka is also hoping for a first piece of silverware, having been denied in the Nedbank Cup final last season. He is also hoping to become the second Malawian coach to lift the title after the late Franky Mbale managed to do so with Kaizer Chiefs in 1992.
THIRTY EXTRA MINUTES …
A total of eight previous finals have gone to extra-time, including six of the last 12, since the competition became the MTN8 in 2008. In that time, there have been three involving Kaizer Chiefs (two won, one loss) and Orlando Pirates (two wins, one loss), as well as SuperSport United (one win, one loss) and Cape Town City (one win, one loss). The other was between Jomo Cosmos and Moroka Swallows and was won 3-2 by Ezenkosi.
SHOOT-OUT DRAMA
Six previous finals have gone to penalty shoot-outs, including two of the last three. This year’s finalists Pirates have a 50 per cent record, having won one (vs Moroka Swallows in 2010) and lost one (vs Platinum Stars in 2013). Chiefs (won two), Sundowns (lost two), SuperSport (won one, lost one) and Cape Town City (won one, lost one) are the other teams to have been involved in final shoot-outs.
HIT FOR SIX
Lamontville Golden Arrows’ 6-0 victory over Ajax Cape Town in the 2009 MTN8 decider remains not only the biggest winning margin in this competition’s final, but also in all domestic cup deciders in South African football history. Current Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi was the man in charge of Golden Arrows on that night.
HAT-TRICK HEROES
There have been three MTN8 cup final hat-tricks in the competition’s history – Ace Ntsoelengoe for Chiefs against AmaZulu in 1976, Marks Maponyane for Chiefs against Rangers in 1987 and Phil Masinga for Jomo Cosmos against Chiefs in 1991, when despite his three goals, he still finished on the losing side.
PROVINCIAL DOMINANCE
Celtic will hope to bring home just a second victory for the Free State province in the history of the MTN8 – in fact since they last lifted the trophy for the only time in 2005.
Teams from Gauteng have traditionally dominated with 38 wins, while there have been three from the Western Cape (Santos, Ajax Cape Town, Cape Town City) as the next most successful province, followed by one win each for Free State (Celtic), KwaZulu-Natal (Golden Arrows), Mpumalanga (Witbank Aces) and North West (Platinum Stars).
