No disgrace as Sekhukhune look forward to CAF

It was heartbreak all-round as Sekhukhune United lost in their maiden cup final in their short spell in the South African Premier League on Saturday. Eventual winners of the 2003 Nedbank Cup Orlando Pirates were runaway favourites ahead of the showdown at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. Despite that glorified tag, Pirates knew they were not going to have it that easy against the hugely improved Limpopo side, and they did struggle at Loftus before eventually running out 2-1 winners deep in injury time. Pirates also had to force a 1-1 draw at the break, via a late equaliser from the spot by Tapelo Xoki after a bizarre concession of a penalty by Victor Letsoalo. The experienced forward had been lying on the ground in his own penalty box, with Pirates forward Thembinkosi Lorch teasing him with the ball until Letsoalo stretched out his hand to pull back the ball. It was one of those ridiculous moments in football. Anyway, overall Sekhukhune gave it their all, giving Pirates and their majority supporters in the stands plenty of scary moments. Pound for pound, upfront Pirates outgunned United but the underdogs' backline displayed highly disciplined and committed defence play. Central defenders Daniel Cardoso and Edwin Gyimah, flanked by Siphosakhe Ntiya-Ntiya and Nyiko Mobbie on the left and right flanks, showed great leadership qualities as they helped the team stay afloat during match-long onslaught by Pirates forwards. Overall, losing in the final was no disgrace for Sekhukhune who can also point to their top-8 finish in the league as another sign of progress - more so under Btandon Truter. Clearly one of the best coaching brains in the country, Truter dusted himself off after two largely incomprehensible sackings by Swallows and later AmaZulu. The club look to be in good hands going into the break ahead of the next season. Two strong strikers and two aggressive attacking midfielders is all Sekhukhune need going forward. And that's not all about this club's achievements this season. The story that has not been properly ahead of the Nedbank Cup final was that, win or lose, Sekhukhune had already qualified for continental football next season. The Nedbank Cup's winners qualify for the CAF Confederation Cup, with third-placed team in the league, this time SuperSport United. But because Pirates have already qualified for the more prestigious CAF Champions League by virtue of finishing second in the league, that means cup runners-up, which means Sekhukhune United this time around, qualify for the Confed. Congratulation are in order for Babina Noko and best wishes to them for new, bigger battles ahead.

South African teams fight lonely battles abroad and home

On May 10, South African football was represented in two international fixtures and got a lashing in both. In the first match, South Africa's premier league team Marumo Gallants lost 2-0 to Tanzania's Young Africans FC in the CAF Confederation Cup. The quarterfinal tie was played in a packed Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium in Dar es Salaam. In the other match, South Africa lost 5-0 to Senegal in the quarterfinals of the CAF Under-17 Championship currently on Algeria. While the national's team fate in the tournament is sealed, not only via a heavy defeat but with heavier reality that the country has failed in its quest to qualify for the Fifa U17 World Cup, Marumo still has another day to fight. On May 17, the Limpopo-based side will host Young Africans for the second leg of their semifinal clash at Royal Bafokeng in Rustenburg, North West province. What Marumo need is to win 2-0 on the day to force the fixture to penalties or end 90 minute with a 3-0 score in their favour to eliminate the Tanzanians outright. It will be a tough task but very much doable in football. What is more tough for Marumo and other teams representing South Africa in international football on the continent it's the apathy of the population back home. The U17 national team fought a lonely battle knowing that a vast majority of their compatriots did not know about it but a lot more footballs in SA knew about and watched the Milan derby the same evening. Even Marumo later this month, are aware the larger section of society, including the country's football fraternity, won't be in their hearts and minds when the match against Yanga kicks off at Royal Bafokeng. The stadium is most likely to be largely empty, compared to the vibe that shook Benjamin Mkapa Stadium on Wednesday. These two matches clearly mark the level of apathy the South African public has reached in as far as connecting itself with what is important with this country - in sport and beyond. The scenario is now of a place that says do not count us anymore among those with ambition to achieve, and all that we want is to follow the progress in Europe. I lack further words to express my disappointed over the self-defeating spirit that has enveloped my nation. And for a sombre update of the blog, on Wednesday May 17 the misery of Marumo Gallants in CAF ConfedCup came to end on a chilly evening at Royal Bafokeng in Rustenburg. The world class stadium in the village of Phokeng turned out to be a happy gathering place for Tanzanian expatriates living in different cities of South Africa. Not all were Yanga supporters but were there to make sure the name of Tanzania is lifted sky-high, while for poor Marumo the evening sounded like they were back in Dar es Salaam. For the record it ended 2-1 in favour of Yanga, who won the semifinal fixture 4-1 on aggregate. To this minute not even a third of SA population knows what happened at Royal Bafokeng yesterday.