Arrows lace up gloves to ‘fight’ for Nedbank Cup title

Golden Arrows have made it their aim to win the Nedbank Cup trophy this season, beginning with their Round of 32 clash against Chippa United at the Mpumalanga Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Kick-off is at 3:00pm (CAT, GMT+2)

CURRENT FORM

Following a relatively positive start to the 2024/25 season, Arrows are hoping to win their first cup since their MTN8 triumph in 2009. After meeting Ajax Cape Town (Now Cape Town Spurs) in the final, Abafana Bes’thende walked to a convincing 6-0 win at the Orlando Stadium.

Fast forward some 16 years, Arrows remain the last KwaZulu-Natal outfit to bag honours in the PSL. Sitting in eighth position in the league, Arrows recorded three draws and one victory in their last four Betway Premiership games.

Arrows last tasted victory on the 12th of January, where they recorded a memorable 1-0 win against Kaizer Chiefs at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.

Chippa have likewise recorded a mixed bag of results in the Betway Premiership currently and head into their first Nedbank Cup assignment on the back of a three-match winless streak.

The Eastern Cape outfit are 12th in the Betway Premiership, with just one win to their name in the last six league outings. Chippa also recorded three defeats and two draws during this period, which ultimately sums up their up-and-down form sheet in the 24/25 campaign.

WHAT WAS SAID

Reflecting on the game against the Chilli Boys, Golden Arrows co-coach Musa Bilankulu believes that his side can challenge for the Nedbank Cup this season.

“This is our opportunity to fight for this trophy, because it’s available. We see it as an opportunity we can use to impress and win a trophy,” Bilankulu said.

“There’s always pressure in football ,and this is our only chance now to fight for silverware. With the group of players we have, I always motivate them to say we can do it again.

“We did it in 2009 when I was still a player, and they have to believe that they can do it as well, despite having to face some of the best teams in the country.”

In what was news that made headlines in PSL football this week, Chippa United Thabo September revealed that the club had made an attempt to sign former Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates star Kermit Erasmus.

“He was training with us, but it didn’t work out. We would have liked to sign him, but there were certain things that the club couldn’t agree with,” September said.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Golden Arrows: Velemseni Ndwandwe – The midfielder was impressive during Arrows' 1-1 draw with TS Galaxy last time out and will be expected to produce the goods against Chippa United this weekend. After getting his name on the scoresheet against the Rockets, Chippa will also have to be wary of Ndwandwe’s late runs into 18-yard-area.

Chippa United: Bienvenu Eva Nga – As a team starved of goals in recent months, much pressure will be placed on Eva Nga to perform in the coming weeks. However, after scoring in the Chilli Boys most recent game, the powerful forward enters the next encounter with a much needed confidence booster.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

This will be the first cup meeting of Golden Arrows and Chippa United

Last five league results:

2022/23 Golden Arrows 3-2 Chippa United

2022/23 Chippa United 0-0 Golden Arrows

2023/24 Chippa United 2-0 Golden Arrows

2023/24 Golden Arrows 1-1 Chippa United

2024/25 Chippa United 2-0 Golden Arrows