Winners And Losers: Carling Black Knockout Final

Magesi Football Club were crowned League Cup champions on Saturday after shocking heavy favorites Sundowns with a 2-1 comeback victory. The defending league champions had reached the final without conceding a goal and were widely expected to win, with bookmakers giving them a 77% chance of victory. After Sundowns opened the scoring in the first half, those expectations grew, but Magesi had other ideas, fighting back for a memorable win.

Winners

Magesi FC

For all the shock value of their triumph in the final, this was neither a fluke nor an easy run for Magesi. Every step of the way, they answered the questions posed to them:

Can you beat Orlando Pirates, the three-time MTN8 Cup champions? Check.
Can you beat last season’s finalists TS Galaxy? No problem.
Can you defeat defending league champions Sundowns? Give them a one-goal advantage, and we’ll take care of it.

It has been a fairytale run with a fairytale ending.

1 – Magesi are the first newly promoted side to win any domestic cup in PSL history.

Clinton Larsen

Larsen emphasized the importance of praising the team over individuals, but there’s no doubt who is driving this machine. Twenty-two months ago, Magesi were in the relegation zone when Larsen took over in the first division. Their transformation from first-division strugglers to champions and now League Cup winners has been nothing short of remarkable.

2 – This is the second time Larsen has won a League Cup final against Sundowns (the first was in 2012 with Celtic). He’s only the second PSL coach to beat Sundowns twice in this competition’s final, after Kaizer Chiefs’ Paul Dolezar (1997 & 1998).

Elvis Chipezeze

Though known for his gamesmanship, Chipezeze’s goalkeeping and leadership cannot be overlooked. No team in the league faces more shots per game than Magesi (14), and the 34-year-old’s experience has been crucial in situations like defending a lead against Sundowns’ formidable attack.

4 – Chipezeze won the Man of the Match award in all four matches he played during the competition.

Edmore Chirambadare

Eight years after an ill-fated stint at Kaizer Chiefs, Edmore Chirambadare is enjoying a redemption arc. His excellent assist for the equalizer was pivotal in Magesi’s comeback.

3 – Chirambadare has been involved in more goals this season (3) than he managed in two seasons at Chiefs (2).

Fighting Spirit

Conceding first seems to have become a trend in the finals of this competition, but it’s often an advantage:

3 – The team conceding first has gone on to lift the title in the last three editions of this competition (2019, 2023, and now 2024).

Losers

Sundowns’ Relationship With Finals

For starters, no PSL team has reached more finals than Sundowns, so losing the most finals must also be viewed in that context. However, for a team so dominant in the league, their record in finals is troubling. Of teams that have appeared in more than two finals, none have a lower winning percentage (40%) than Sundowns, who have won 10 out of 25.

15 – Sundowns have lost more PSL domestic finals than any other team.

Breakdown of Sundowns’ final losses:

5x Top8 (BP/SAA/MTN8): most

5x League Cup (Coke/Rothmans/TKO/CKO): joint-most (with Pirates)

5x FA Cup (BobSave/ABSA/Nedbank Cups): most

Manqoba Mngqithi

Losing to Orlando Pirates in the Nedbank Cup final was disappointing but understandable. However, conceding two goals from crosses (a known Magesi strength) and losing to a newly promoted side was unacceptable. Sundowns have now lost more domestic games this season (4) than they did in the entire previous season (2).

0 – Manqoba Mngqithi has never won a game against Clinton Larsen as a coach: P5 W0 D1 L4.