Saturday’s Nedbank Cup final in Pretoria presents Sekhukhune United with an opportunity to become first-time winners of the competition and join a small band of clubs who have achieved the feat in the Premier Soccer League era.
Since 1996, there have been six clubs who have won the cup for the first time.
1999 SuperSport United: The cup competition was then known as the BoB Save Super Bowl and the final pitted Kaizer Chiefs, the undisputed cup kings of South African football, against SuperSport at Soccer City. Thomas Madigage had the SuperSport side, coached by Roy Matthews, ahead seven minutes before halftime before Glen Salmon made it 2-0 with 13 minutes to go. Chiefs, who had the Hungarian-Yugoslav Paul Dolezar as their coach, managed a consolation in the last minute, but it came from the penalty spot and was converted by Pollen Ndlanya.
2001: Santos won their first trophy with Clive Barker at the helm as Tyren Arendse’s early goal at Soccer City settle the outcome in favour of the Cape Town club over Mamelodi Sundowns, who had Neil Tovey in charge. It was Barker’s last game in charge and Santos would go on, the next season, to take the league title. Santos played only one fellow topflight club on their way to the final, beating Moroka Swallows 1-0 in the semis, while Sundowns had to overcome the likes of SuperSport and Chiefs to book their place in the decider.
2007: Ajax won the Absa Cup with a 2-0 victory over Sundowns at King’s Park in Durban, with goals in either half from Bryce Moon and Franklin Cale. Sundowns had been looking to complete the double after their league success under Gordon Igesund but were strangely subdued in the final, dominated by the youthful Cape Town side, who had Muhsin Ertugral in charge. Moon volleyed home after impressive work from Terror Fanteni on the right and Cale finished the job 11 minutes from time by lobbing the ball over Calvin Marlin after the goalkeeper had botched a clearance.
2018: Free State Stars and Maritzburg United were both first-time finalists in the Nedbank Cup decider at the Cape Town Stadium and it was the team from Bethlehem who took a first-ever major trophy. Coached by the Belgian Luc Eymael, Stars absorbed the pressure of their opponents and caught Maritzburg out just before the halftime whistle. Goodman Dlamini finished after being teed up by Sinethemba Jantjie, who had stolen the ball away on the edge of the area. Maritzburg might have had the better of the play but never looked threatening as nerves seemed to weighing heavily on the team of youthful coach Fadlu Davids.
2019: TS Galaxy became the only club from outside the top-flight of South African football to win a major club competition with a dramatic victory over Chiefs at Durban’s Mosss Mabhida Stadium. One of the great shocks of the South African game continued a lengthy trophyless drought for AmaKhosi, who had Ernst Middendorp in charge and were the runaway favourites. Zakhele Lepasa converted a stoppage-time penalty to hand the minnows from Mpumalanga, under the tutelage of Dan Malesela a 1-0 victory. It left the crowd, and the country, stunned.
2021: Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila were the team that took over Bidvest Wits’ top-flight franchise on 2020 but within six months its owners ran out of money and had to sell to Polokwane businessman Abram Sello. He had to stick with the TTM name before changing the club to Marumo Gallants and so the history books will show that it was TTM who won the 2021 edition with Dylan Kerr as their coach. Their opponents, Chippa United, were also in a first-ever final and came into the game at the Free State Stadium with high hopes but got caught when Ndabayithethwa Ndlondo tried his luck from long range and saw his effort deflect off the head of defender Frederic Nsabiyumva to wrong-foot goalkeeper Ismail Watenga and find the back of the net in the 27th minute.