Stellies eyeing deep Nedbank Cup run

Another DStv Premiership club is destined to fall when Stellenbosch host Swallows at Athlone Stadium in the Nedbank Cup round of 32 on Saturday.

Kick-off is at 3pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)

The competition claimed its first two top-flight casualties in midweek when Richards Bay and SuperSport United were eliminated by Mamelodi Sundowns and Dondol Stars respectively.

The Maroons have only made it beyond the opening round once, in 2018 when they reached the round of 16 and Steve Barker's side fell at the first hurdle again last season after being knocked out by Baroka.

Stellies recently halted a worrying nine-match winless streak in the league with back-to-back victories over Cape Town City and Chippa United, leaving Barker hopeful of a deep cup run to make something of their season.

"I think if you get past the first hurdle and into last 16 and then one more game and into the last eight, then I do think the mood will pick up," he said.

"For the players the fact they may have a chance of getting to a final, that will galvanise us and push us forward. We believe at some stage we have to have a good cup run and reach the semifinal or the final. So I'm hoping that this will be the season."

The Dube Birds have a good pedigree in the Nedbank Cup as former champions in 2009, while they also lifted the trophy four times during its previous iterations.

However, the Soweto outfit haven't gone further than the round of 16 since their triumph under Julio Cesar Leal two decades ago and bowed out to Royal AM at the same stage last season.

Results have improved slightly following the appointment of Ernst Middendorp as head coach in December, with Swallows losing just one of their last five league matches and keeping four clean sheets in the process.

Middendorp is also a former winner of the competition with Kaizer Chiefs in 2006 and he guided them to the final once more in 2019 when they lost 1-0 to TS Galaxy.

The German is looking to build on an "important win" over Richards Bay and feels his players are slowly making progress when in possession, although he still wants to see an improvement.

"I was absolutely terrified to see our ball possession work that we've been doing now for weeks during training sessions. But it's much better," he said.

"But at the beginning of the week, we made it very clear they [Richards Bay] conceded only 10 goals, seven months now into the season and we knew it was not going to be an easy task and at the end, it was an important win for us."