RELEBOGILE Mokhuoane of Sekhukhune United with the club’s new head coach Peter Hyballa during their recent media day at Bedfordview Country Club. BackpagePix
A NEW coach. A new kit. Good things happen in threes, don’t they? So Sekhukhune United must reach a new stage in the MTN8 to complete the picture, right?
‘Ba Bina Noko’ are now led by German coach Peter Hyballa and will be resplendent in kit provided by new technical sponsor Kelme for the 2024/25 campaign.
Surely an improvement on their showing in the season-opening knockout competition would do just fine.
Captain Linda Mntambo believes so.
“We are playing at home in front of our fans and we want to go to the next round,” the skipper said of his club’s chances against Cape Town City at the Peter Mokaba Stadium today (3pm kick-off).
“Last season we were knocked out in the first round (quarter-finals) and we will be looking to improve on that and progress to the next round.”
It would be a big feat for the ever-improving Sekhukhune, who had a good run in continental competition as they reached the group stage of the Caf Confederation Cup.
They are returning to the continent’s secondary club competition and would love nothing more that to reach the knockout phase – and they want to do the same in the MTN8.
“When I joined Sekhukhune in 2022, the mandate was always to improve from the past game and from the past season,” said Mntambo.
“There is no pressure to win trophies, but as players we want to win and we strive for that. We always want to improve where we left off. Now we want to get ourselves into the semi-finals.”
Their drive to succeed is not just for prestige but Mntambo and his teammates are eager to improve their bank balances, too.
“We are here because of the money. Talent is there and we are doing what we love, but what makes us wake up every morning is the motivation to put food on the table,” he said.
“But with the MTN8, the bonuses and the incentives is the motivation. Of course, yes, we have contracts to honour and we are playing for the badge, but you cannot run away from the knowledge that if we win there are incentives.”
In this competition, though, the incentives only really go to the champions, who will earn a cool R10 million, with the rest of the seven clubs getting a mere R1 million each.
It is that huge difference in rewards that will see the clubs giving their all to go all the way.
Sekhukhune are eager to get over the initial hurdle so they can join both Orlando Pirates and Stellenbosch FC in the semi-final draw tomorrow. Mamelodi Sundowns will battle it out with Polokwane City for the other spot.
Mntambo knows that they are in for a tough challenge against the Citizens.
“It is going to be an exciting fixture,” he said.
“We know what Cape Town City can bring on the day. They have never changed their style, they always play on the front foot. We all know how they prevented Sundowns from being the ‘invincibles’, which tells you how good a team they are.
“But we will focus on ourselves and give our fans a quality game.”
He is confident that they have done enough in the pre-season to be ready to shine.
“We worked hard during the six weeks. The conditioning team worked hard on us. We got to play 90 minutes friendlies and built enough to last and play at the highest quality, so we are ready.”
They have an enthusiastic new coach and a new sponsor as well as some new players who Mntambo described as ready to help the club improve.
The stage is thus set for Sekhukhune United to sparkle. At least, that’s what they believe.
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