Cardoso feels cup is there for the taking

Sekhukhune United defender Daniel Cardoso has suggested that any of the eight teams remaining in the newly launched Carling Knockout can win it.

Sekhukhune host TS Galaxy in the last quarterfinal game of the Carling Knockout at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday (8pm). The first last eight tie of this competition will see Polokwane City trade blows with Stellenbosch at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium tomorrow night (7.30pm).

This will be followed by a double-header at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday where Orlando Pirates will take on Richards Bay at 3pm, before provincial rivals AmaZulu and Golden Arrows battle it out three hours later.

“It’s a new cup in total. This cup is for the taking for anybody but that doesn’t mean it will be easy one to win because every team in the division is proving week in week out that they can beat anyone,” Cardoso said during the side’s media open day at Johannesburg Stadium yesterday.

Galaxy have just beaten Sekhukhune 2-0 in the league on Sunday. Cardoso believes that the Rockets will draw motivation from their win over perennial achievers Mamelodi Sundowns in the first round, albeit he’s convinced that playing Supersport United in the league last night will mean they come fatigued to Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday.

“Galaxy have been doing well. They beat Sundowns in this cup, so they also got a lot of inspiration. They are playing tonight [yesterday] and we had no midweek game, so that’s an advantage for us to go there with more energy,” Cardoso said.

The veteran centre-back also insisted that the rumours that their coach Brandon Truter was at risk of being sacked wasn’t affecting them at all.

“We come here to do our business. The speculation about the coach’s future shouldn’t affect us because we do our business on the field, not in the office... we don’t worry about what happens in the office because that’s up to the coach and the management. We are just here to play football,” Cardoso reiterated.