Cape Town – Stellenbosch FC will welcome back their star striker Iqraam Rayners after he sat out the midweek game against SuperSport United due to an agreement between the two clubs.
Rayners rejoined Stellenbosch during the January transfer window and has been hugely impressive ever since. He is the leading scorer in the 2023 Nedbank Cup to date, with six goals in three games.
Remarkably, he has scored a brace in every round against Swallows FC, TS Galaxy and Mamelodi Sundowns. He has nine goals (three for SuperSport) in 10 Nedbank Cup games throughout his career and is also Stellies’ all-time leading scorer in the competition.
The Nedbank Cup semi-finals take centre stage this weekend, with two tasty ties as Kaizer Chiefs host Orlando Pirates in a Soweto Derby tomorrow and Stellenbosch FC welcome Sekhukhune United to the Danie Craven Stadium on Sunday.
With Rayners' red-hot form, he may have a chance for a hat-trick, which was only recorded once in a Soweto Derby cup match. When Pirates clashed with Chiefs in the semi-finals of the Bob Save Super Bowl in 1996, striker Jerry Sikhosana netted three. This rare hat-trick set up Pirates' thumping 4-1 win over arch-rivals Pirates.
It has been many years since there has been a Soweto Derby in the semi-finals of South Africa’s FA Cup. It last happened in 1996, and on six previous occasions as well. Of those seven semis, Chiefs have won four.
In 2013, Chiefs won the Nedbank Cup after they defeated SuperSport United 1-0 in the final after extra time. It was the last time Chiefs lifted the Nedbank Cup, and the winning goal was scored by Bernard "Die Hond" Parker, who will be playing for Sekhukhune on Sunday.
Pirates last won the Nedbank Cup in 2014, when Kermit Erasmus scored two goals in a 3-1 win over BidVest Wits. Erasmus left Sundowns at the end of last season and is back at Pirates for a second spell.
IOL Sport