Revenge on Zwane's mind as Downs face Bucs in cup decider

Mamelodi Sundowns are expected to look to Themba Zwane's magical moves on the field when they face Orlando Pirates in the Nedbank Cup final at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday (3pm).

The veteran midfielder, however, says the team need to correct the mistakes they made in the MTN8 final defeat, against the same Pirates side, earlier this season.

Sundowns lost out on penalties and the Pretorians seek to avenge that defeat. Zwane says Saturday's final provides the opportunity for his side to not only win the R7-million Cup, but get square with Pirates.

“This match gives us another opportunity to rectify our mistakes from the previous final,” Zwane said.

“And we are very motivated to play the game. Pirates and Sundowns always an amazing game to watch because of the two teams and the quality players and that’s all I can say.”

After their dreams of going the entire season unbeaten ended in the last game of the campaign, when they lost 1-0 to Cape Town City, Zwane said they are still hurt by the loss and hope to make up with a cup victory.

“As we all know at Sundowns, it is all about making history. It is our culture in the team and it is very important for us to win this trophy because as a team, we just want to finish on a high note,” he said.

“We will go to the game with a positive mindset to try and win the match. We are pushing ourselves and now it is about analysing our opponents and trying to figure out how we will approach the game.

“It’s difficult, but as a professional player, you understand your job very well. You understand the situations that are happening and as a leader, you always have to be positive and try to push the guys.

“It was very sad because we wanted to break the record. And you could see our body language after the game. We were disappointed.

“But it’s part of football. We just have to be strong and I think we can try it again next season. Why not?”