EC BEES coach Chippa Njedu’s wish to meet two well-known Premier Soccer League teams became a reality when his young guns were drawn against Mamelodi Sundowns in the Nedbank Cup last 16 draw on Wednesday evening.
After beating Mariveni United 3-1 at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium to get through to the last-32 for the first time in the club’s history, Njedu said he had earmarked two important things from this Cup tournament.
They were to market his players, as well as the team. Njedu said he knew he’d only be able to achieve these aims by drawing either Sundowns or Kaizer Chiefs, as they had already played against Orlando Pirates during last season’s instalment of the tournament here at home.
“This is what I was hoping for because my boys will be able to show the country what they can do on the pitch.
“So we are just in good spirits as a team. We are not worried or scared of anything, because this is a good chance for the boys to market their talent. They are playing the big boys and everyone will be watching them.”
Njedu said the only downside to their fixture was that they were playing away from home and that he had hoped to have had a home game for the fans.
“I knew when we weren’t named in the first four teams that were drawn, we would be drawn against a big team.
“It’s just that we’ll be playing away but otherwise there’s nothing bothering us at this moment.
“If we lose it’s still fine because at least we would have lost to a big team like Downs.
“We really wanted our supporters to get a game like this but there’s nothing we can do for them right now. They can watch us on television.”
Njedu said he was proud of getting his team into the last-16 of the lucrative Nedbank Cup for the first time.
Bees will be locking horns against Highbury in a third-tier league encounter at the Bhisho Stadium today. Njedu said they wanted to win all their league games because when the Nedbank Cup is done, they will have to shift their focus back on the title race.
“We have to make to sure that every time we play league games we collect all three points.”
Other Nedbank Cup last-16 fixtures: Kaizer Chiefs v Stellenbosch FC, Cape Town City v Orlando Pirates, Royal Eagles v Maritzburg United, AmaZulu v Ubuntu Cape Town, Free State Stars v Chippa United, Mamelodi Sundowns v EC Bees, Bloemfontein Celtic v Richards Bay FC, Baroka v Steenburg United.
EC Bees abuzz over Downs clash
After beating Mariveni United 3-1 at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium to get through to the last-32 for the first time in the club’s history, Njedu said he had earmarked two important things from this Cup tournament.
They were to market his players, as well as the team. Njedu said he knew he’d only be able to achieve these aims by drawing either Sundowns or Kaizer Chiefs, as they had already played against Orlando Pirates during last season’s instalment of the tournament here at home.
“This is what I was hoping for because my boys will be able to show the country what they can do on the pitch.
“So we are just in good spirits as a team. We are not worried or scared of anything, because this is a good chance for the boys to market their talent. They are playing the big boys and everyone will be watching them.”
Njedu said the only downside to their fixture was that they were playing away from home and that he had hoped to have had a home game for the fans.
“I knew when we weren’t named in the first four teams that were drawn, we would be drawn against a big team.
“It’s just that we’ll be playing away but otherwise there’s nothing bothering us at this moment.
“If we lose it’s still fine because at least we would have lost to a big team like Downs.
“We really wanted our supporters to get a game like this but there’s nothing we can do for them right now. They can watch us on television.”
Njedu said he was proud of getting his team into the last-16 of the lucrative Nedbank Cup for the first time.
Bees will be locking horns against Highbury in a third-tier league encounter at the Bhisho Stadium today. Njedu said they wanted to win all their league games because when the Nedbank Cup is done, they will have to shift their focus back on the title race.
“We have to make to sure that every time we play league games we collect all three points.”
Other Nedbank Cup last-16 fixtures: Kaizer Chiefs v Stellenbosch FC, Cape Town City v Orlando Pirates, Royal Eagles v Maritzburg United, AmaZulu v Ubuntu Cape Town, Free State Stars v Chippa United, Mamelodi Sundowns v EC Bees, Bloemfontein Celtic v Richards Bay FC, Baroka v Steenburg United.
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