Winners & Losers – Nedbank Cup Round of 16

Kaizer Chiefs were the biggest winners, cruising to a 3-0 win, while Orlando Pirates and Sundowns went past lower-division sides.

Durban City provided the only “upset” of the round, but Marumo Gallants, Stellenbosch, and SuperSport ensured the top flight would be well-represented in the Last 8. Winners & Losers is a statistical review of the weekend.

Winners

Orlando Pirates

Back on the Winners List after their recent hammering by Sundowns. The defending champions were comfortable winners over Baroka, thanks to a hat-trick from Tshefgofatso Mabasa.

Jose Riveiro has now gone 12 games unbeaten in the competition, winning 11 of those. But even their goalscoring record in this competition preceded his arrival.

50/52 – Pirates have now scored in 50 of the 52 games they have played in the tournament since Nedbank sponsored this competition in 2008.

Tshegofatso Mabasa

The big story from the victory was the 36 uninterrupted passes leading up to Mabasa’s third goal for Pirates, which involved all their 10 outfield players. Undoubtedly, it was a beautifully constructed goal, but it still needed finishing. Who else to wrap it up than their sharpshooter, who is inching closer toward a club record.

44 – The hat-trick brought Mabasa to 44 goals for Orlando Pirates, going past Lesley Manyathela as the club’s 2nd outright top scorer in the PSL era. He needs 14 goals to equal Benedict Vilakazi’s club record of 58.

Kaizer Chiefs

A year ago, Chiefs had been knocked out of the Cup by this stage. This time, they have shown up as if they know the Nedbank Cup presents their best chance of silverware this season. The four goals in their first game were against an amateur side, but three against Chippa is nothing to be sniffed at (no team has scored three against Chippa in any game this season).

7 – Chiefs have scored seven goals in two games in this season’s Nedbank Cup – the last time they had more at this stage of the tournament was 2006 (8 then)

Gaston Sirino

14 games have yielded eight-goal involvements for the 33-year-old. When he plays, Chiefs are more potent. He has a knack for Cup competitions and could be a key weapon in the latter stages.

30 – Sirino has scored 30 goals in Cup competitions, only the 5th player in PSL history to reach 30 goals in Cups.

Durban City

TS Galaxy were unbeaten in 13 games and had just beaten Sundowns coming into this one. When the Rockets took the lead, it seemed as if the writing was on the wall. But Durban City, from the lower division, had other ideas.

1 –  This was the second time TSG lost a game after scoring first this season (also v Stellies in their MTN8 quarter-final).

Losers

Sundowns indiscipline

Sundowns lead the league by a healthy gap and are into the quarter-finals of the CAF Champions League and Nedbank Cup. One thing that could threaten their hopes when the opposition gets tougher is their disciplinary record.

8 – Sundowns have received 8 red cards this season, more than any other teams, and more than they had all of last season (6).

A confusing draw

One leg of the Quarter-final draw is likely to read Royal AM/Milford v Sekhukhune v another team. Royal AM matter is a complicated one to navigate for all involved. However, the sooner some resolution is reached, the better it will be for the image of the PSL as a whole.