Casric Stars coach and co-owner Joseph Mthombeni says the aim was not to beat Orlando Pirates, but a late tactical switch opened the door to a historic Nedbank Cup win.
The club known as “The Believers” caused a massive upset in the Nedbank Cup last-16, defeating the Buccaneers 5-4 on penalties at Orlando Amstel Arena, but coach Mthombeni says victory wasn’t the original goal.
According to Mthombeni, his players were excited to pull the result, but that wasn’t the plan.
“Coming here was about making sure we honour the game and we are not being hammered and embarrassed,” Mthombeni told journalists.
The game remained goalless after extra time, but Mthombeni noticed a change after Orlando Pirates made substitutions in the 73rd minute.
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“I started to believe we can win this game after the 73rd minute because that’s where Pirates started to take off players that were a threat to us, such as Tito and Hotto, bringing in players we can match. [Tshepang] Moremi was starting to lose patience, taking shots from all over the pitch,” he explained.
Despite the cup glory, Mthombeni made it clear that promotion is his team’s priority. “It’d be good to win automatic promotion this season after struggling to do it for years.
“This game is now the past. The main cup final is on Friday [when they host the Bees in the league]. … Our main objective is to focus more on the league. We don’t want to now focus on the Nedbank Cup,” he added.
Casric Stars have played 18 matches in the Motsepe Foundation Championship, leaving 12 matches remaining in their pursuit of promotion.
Their current record stands at 8 wins, 7 draws, and 3 losses, placing them 4th in the standings with 31 points.
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They trail the league leaders by five points and will need a strong run in their final dozen games to secure the automatic promotion spot.
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