The Sundowns-Chiefs Nedbank Cup semi-final match was a sold out affair and AmaKhosi finally beat the Yellow Machine at Loftus after a decade of dominence. Photo: PSL

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If you ever doubted that miracles do happen, then go and ask Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi, as he proved it that they do happens sometimes and coupled with a bit of luck too.

At a pre-match press conference with sports scribes, Nabi put miracles first before his hard work and game plans, and his miracle wishes handsomely paid off as he finally beat the rampant Mamelodi Sundowns 2-1 in the Nedbank Cup semi-final at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium on April 13 to advance to the final where he found Arch enemy Orlando Pirates waiting for him.

The Mighty Buccaneers had booked their final sport when it despatched of hapless Marumo Gallants 1-0 earlier in the day in a match where the Sea Robbers scored as early as in the 21^st minute of the game at the iconic Orlando Stadium in Soweto.

The Pirates-Gallants fixture was played earlier at 15H00 while the Sundowns-Chiefs match kicked off at 18H00 and the Chiefs win means Mzansi football lovers have yet another Soweto Derby treat on their hands in the form of the Nedbank Cup on May 10, which will be seven days after another in the Betway Premiership.

The Soweto Derby between the two Soweto giants ranks top of the leader board in the continent and among the top football derbies of the world.

Chiefs have never beaten the Yellow Machine at Loftus for the past decade and this is a record-breaking win for AmaKhosi as it not only marks a milestone achievement but also places the Chiefs side in line to smash yet another record of a decade-long trophy drought in their cabinet, but that is dependent on them beating the new Nedbank Cup specialists, Orlando Pirates.

If the ‘Ezimnyama Ngenkani’ [the blacks by nature] manage to beat AmaKhosi Amahle in the Nedbank Cup, they will have smashed another record in this cup tournament as no team has ever defended the cup, let alone defended it twice in a row. They first won the cup three seasons ago when they beat the Yellow Machine, defended it against Stellenbosch FC and now they have set their sights on second defence of the trophy.

The Chiefs win against Sundowns came in with a little help from a pass of misluck from the Argentine international defender Lucas Suarez, who has since been nicknamed ‘Insurance’ in a corruption of his surname. “When Sundowns plays Chiefs again, no ‘Insurance’ please coach,” pleaded a placard from a dejected ‘Sandawana’ fan at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium.

This is not the first time that ‘Insurance’ [for Suarez] had this misfortune as it happened in yet another top league match against the Buccaneers where Sundowns was yet again beaten 2-1 by the Sea Robbers. On both occasions, Suarez had casually attempted to pass the ball with an opponent very close to intercept it and on both occasions, it was intercepted and resulted in a goal. This led to Masandawana skipper and keeper of Rowen Williams being livid on both occasions to his teammate.

Its funny how these placards come thick and fast once you’re a repeat offender and Suarez has eventually earned his nickname of ‘Insurance’ in the Mamelodi Sundowns team.

At the post-match press talk, the man who made the damage with the intercepted pass, Wandile Duba, was chosen Man of the Match and when asked how he managed to pounce on the ball, he replied: “We knew he was going to make a mistake as a repeat offender and fortunate for me he did and I pounced on the pass of misfortune and buried it. Even our coach had told us to keep a close watch on him.”

As the most inform team of the Nedbank Cup, Chiefs has never put a foot wrong in this lucrative cup competition although it has been blowing hot and cold in the league matches of the Betway Premiership.

Besides being the highest paying trophy of the league season, the Nedbank Cup allows the winner to play in the Caf Confederations Cup. For the past two seasons, Pirates has won the cup and came second on the league, opening a window for the side to choose whether it wants to play the Confederation Cup or the Caf Champions League. The Buccaneers have always opted to play Champions League.

Even if Pirates successfully defends the trophy twice in a row, chances are that it will opt to play Champions League football and Chiefs could hence qualify through the back door as the runners-up in this cup competition. This will therefore pave the way for the AmaKhosi to play continental football once more, a feat that its fans have been yearning for in a long time.