Carling Knockout semifinals in Numbers

The Carling Knockout semifinals will be played this weekend as Richards Bay host Stellenbosch FC on Saturday and AmaZulu welcome TS Galaxy on Sunday.

We round up all the numbers as the quartet chase a place in the decider.

2 –  TS Galaxy and AmaZulu are the only two of the remaining sides to have lifted a knockout trophy in the past. Galaxy claimed the 2019 Nedbank Cup while still campaigning in the second tier, famously beating Kaizer Chiefs in the decider. Usuthu won the 1992 Coca-Cola Cup, the forerunner to the Carling Knockout, also beating Chiefs in the final. One of Richards Bay or Stellenbosch will appear in their first ever knockout decider.

3 –  A curse? The last three finals of the Carling Knockout competition have involved Bloemfontein Celtic and BidVest Wits (2017), who have both gone out of business, and relegated Baroka FC (2018) and Maritzburg United (2019), who are also now in the second tier.

3 – Stellenbosch are appearing in their third cup semifinal in a row after losing in the 2023 Nedbank Cup on penalties to Sekhukhune United and the 2023 MTN8 to Orlando Pirates on the away goals rule. They were very unfortunate on both occasions.

3 – AmaZulu forward Sede Dion is leading the Golden Boot race in this year’s competition with three goals. Only one other player, Polokwane City’s Hlayisi Chauke, has scored more than once.

4 – Richards Bay lead the head-to-head against Stellenbosch having collected four wins to two in their seven previous meetings, with one match drawn. But Stellies won 2-1 when the teams met in the league earlier this month.

4 – Iqraam Rayners has scored four times for Stellenbosch against Richards Bay in the past, the most prolific player in this fixture. That is more than half the seven goals the Winelands Club have managed against their KwaZulu-Natal opponents!

6 – The winners of the Carling Knockout will play a select team in an exhibition game on January 6, 2024.

7 – AmaZulu and TS Galaxy have met seven times before, with Usuthu claiming three wins to two, to go with a further two draws. There have only been nine goals scored in those seven games. Usuthu claimed a 1-0 home win when the teams met earlier in the season in the league.

13 – Kaizer Chiefs are the most successful side in the competition’s history with 13 wins since it was first played in 1982. Mamelodi Sundowns have the next most wins with four.

16 – The final of the Carling Knockout will be played on December 16 at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.

17 – There have been 17 different winners of the Carling Knockout down the years, a healthy spread of victors.

17 – There have been 17 goals scored in seven games between Richards Bay and Stellenbosch. That is an average of 2.43 per game, which is not bad at all in South African football.

28 – The first two rounds of this year’s competition produced 28 goals in 12 games, an average of 2.33 per match.

41 – Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates have won the most matches in the Carling Knockout in the PSL era with 41. But narrowly behind them are Mamelodi Sundowns, who have won 40. Chiefs and Sundowns exited in the first round this year and Pirates in the quarterfinals.

2019 – The last time the competition was played was in 2019, when it was known as the Telkom Knockout.

6 850 000 –  The winners of this year’s competition will walk away with R6.85 million. Not a bad payday, though not quite the richest first prize in South African knockout football, which is the MTN8 with R8 million.