Magesi FC have everything to prove and nothing to lose when enjoying their moment in the spotlight in tonight’s Nedbank Cup last 16 match against Bidvest Wits at Old Peter Mokaba Stadium, their coach Jackie Ledwaba said yesterday.
Former striker Ledwaba, a PSL top scorer for Zulu Royals (AmaZulu) with 14 goals in 2003-04, said his team comprising of schoolboys and young men just out of school will be out to teach the hugely more experienced Clever Boys a lesson.
Magesi, one of four non-PSL teams left in the Nedbank Cup, were the Vodacom League’s Limpopo champions last season, winning one match and drawing two in the national promotion playoffs.
They beat fellow Vodacom team EC Bees 2-1 in East London in the previous round of the Nedbank.
“We’ve just told our boys to play normally, not to feel intimidated, and go out there and enjoy themselves.
“This is the biggest stage they will have played on, and it’s a chance for them to show they are good enough to compete with the best. Being in this round of 16 is a motivation in itself.
“The stage is theirs – they must just go out there and fight. The important thing is to not try to play individually, because then we can struggle.”
Ledwaba said his team, based in Moletsi, outside Polokwane, are made up of local talent soaked up from around Limpopo, such as playmaking talent Clint Monareng.
“Most of our players have been spotted from local amateur teams, and in local tournaments. They are young – many are still at school. Most are under 24, and there are only two older players,” the coach said.