'Don't rush the moments,' Kekana advice Sundowns ahead of the final showdown against Magesi

Magesi FC will do well to vary their game if they're to have a chance of beating Mamelodi Sundowns in the Carling Knockout Cup at the Free State Stadium on Saturday (6pm).

The PSL rookies surprised all and sundry when they eliminated Orlando Pirates (2-3), TS Galaxy (0-1) and Richards Bay (0-1) to reach their first cup final in the top-flight.

Those victories were as a result of a well-orchestrated transition plan by Magesi coach Clinton Larsen, the man who beat Sundowns in the final of this competition with Bloemfontein Celtic in 2012.

Former Sundowns skipper Hlompho Kekana said Magesi cannot rely on their counterattacking plan in Saturday's final because Sundowns always have a way to deal with teams who rely on counters.

Instead Kekana advised Magesi to play an open game because they have nothing to lose in this final as not many people had expected them to be one of the contenders.

“It's going to be a very tricky one to predict because you're talking about a team (Sundowns) that is now aware what they're playing against. I must say maybe Pirates and other teams didn't know who they were playing against,” said Kekana who is one of the competition's ambassadors.

“Now I believe Sundowns will be very naive if they can say they don't know how Magesi plays. I'm sure there's a lot of work they have been doing in making sure that they dig deep in finding out where they can hurt Magesi.

“The (video) analysts of course they brought some footage, but I do know that moments of the game happen only when you lose the ball. It will boil down to how Sundowns maintain all those moments. If they can be sober in their approach and make sure they don't lose balls cheaply I think they've got a game.”

Kekana said Sundowns should be patient in search for goals against a team that has conceded only two going to the final, with their goalkeeper and skipper Elvis Chipezeze in fine form and winning man-of-the-match three times under Magesi.

“I think the key is 'don't rush the moment' as Sundowns players. You must starve them of the opportunity to counterattack. If you have the ball, you make sure that you use it to your advantage. Keep it as long as you can for you to be in control of the game.

“When you play a team like Magesi that wants to break, they're waiting for that one moment when you make a mistake and then they counter you. I think the best thing is don't give them the ball cheaply and make sure that when you're in front of the goal take your chances.

“Sundowns have to make sure their rest defence (backline) is always on point because (Edmore) Chirambadare is quick, in the midfield (Samuel) Darpoh and (Deolin) Mekoa are doing an excellent job. I think it will be important for Bathusi Aubaas and Teboho Mokoena to stabilise that. Once they take charge of the midfield, they'll easily win the match.” 

Sundowns have won this competition four times, eight behind Kaizer Chiefs who have a record of winning it 12 times.