Motale was at Bucs when they lost 1-0 to Wits in the 1995 Coca-Cola Cup Final through Benson Otiti’s goal. Ironically, that very season Pirates reached the CAF Champions Cup Final [now Champions League].
“This is going to be a balanced final and it will be decided by either Manyisa or Vilakazi,” Motale tells KickOff.com. “As we have seen right through the season, when Manyisa is on song, other Pirates players are able to join in and lift their own games. The same applies to Wits because Vilakazi is a key player. When they attack, he is a go-to-guy for Wits and when they defend he is also the first one to organise the defence.”
Besides Vilakazi, another key Wits player is former Kaizer Chiefs striker Sthembiso Ngcobo.
Ngcobo scored six League goals in the second half of the season, and Motale says he is also a man to watch.
“I’m not sure if he will be playing but if he does Pirates need to watch out for him. He has been playing well and he has a point to prove after he was rejected by Kaizer Chiefs. Wits have nothing to lose because they have already done well to reach the final.
“My biggest fear about Orlando Pirates is that they will be desperate to win because they have already lost three cup finals this season. They will go to this match trying to please fans and desperate to win because they won’t want to finish the season empty-handed. This is the same desperation that cost Kaizer Chiefs their League title when they were leading by eight points.
But they have Tebogo [Moloi] who can calm things down and help them relax. My prediction is that the match will be decided by penalties and Pirates will win because they have Senzo [Meyiwa].”
* The looming show down happens at Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban. Kick-off 3pm. (Mabhida is the happy ground for The Nedbank Cup final having hosted it last year).
At the time of publishing there were only 5000 tickets left, according to the organisers!
