By Grace Chingoma
Supersport United coach Kaitano Tembo is on the verge of winning his first major trophy as a coach in the South African Premiership. He led his side into the MTN 8 Cup final on Wednesday evening after a 2-0 win over Mamelodi Sundowns in their semi-final at the Lucas Moripe Stadium.
Tembo’s men proceeded to the final on 3-2 aggregate victory.
SuperSport United will meet Highlands Park in the final at Orlando Stadium on October 5.
Last year, Tembo again guided his team to the final of the same tournament but lost to Cape Town City in Durban.
“It’s not just getting into the final but to do a job in the final,’’ said Tembo.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy game. They rested nine players and had fresh legs and we only had one change from the Saturday game.
“It’s not easy to play against a team like Sundowns and come out with a result like this.’’
The coach, who won the MTN8 as an assistant to then SuperSport United coach, Eric Tinkler in 2017, said he was happy to play the final at the Orlando Stadium.
“It’s a Cup final. It’s a neutral venue. We are happy to go there,’’ he told the South African media. What is important for us is to stay humble because we have not yet won it. We are playing against a very difficult team in Highlands Park.’’
Tembo’s coaching profile in South Africa keeps growing by each passing week since he took charge at Matsatsansa last season as the substantative coach. He is the only Zimbabwean in charge of a team in Super Diski.
The Cup final will have a strong Zimbabwean flavour as Highlands Park are home to veteran goalkeeper Tapuwa Kapini and forward Tendai Ndoro.
SuperSport United boast of the Warriors duo of Kuda Mahachi and Evans Rusike as well as former Warriors defender Onismor Bhasera. The Herald
