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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.

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