What Usuthu must do to match Class of ’92 — Dearnaley
Chase an early goal and settle nerves, former AmaZulu star advises his old team ahead of MTN8 final
03 November 2022 - 18:40
by Sihle Ndebele
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Gabadinho Mhango of AmaZulu FC during the MTN8, Semi Final - 2nd Leg match between AmaZulu FC and Kaizer Chiefs at Moses Mabhida Stadium on October 23 2022 in Durban. Picture: GALLO IMAGES/DARREN STEWART
Talking from experience on how to win against favourites in a cup final, AmaZulu great George Dearnaley has given Usuthu some pointers on how they can stun Orlando Pirates in the MTN8 final at a sold-out Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday (6pm).
Dearnaley, who still holds the record of most goals in a single season for AmaZulu after netting 23 times in 1992, played a telling role when the Durban club humbled then cup kings Kaizer Chiefs 3-1 to lift the 1992 Coca-Cola Cup. That triumph remains Usuthu’s only piece of silverware to date.
“AmaZulu players must make sure they don’t get too excited about the occasion because the atmosphere will always favour the bigger club, which is Pirates in this case.
“Pirates are used to playing finals and they have just come from playing against Chiefs in front of 90,000 people, so the occasion must not get to the heads of AmaZulu players,” Dearnaley said.
“The second thing is you need the whole team to have a good game. AmaZulu can’t afford one or two players to have a bad game. Everybody must put in an effort … it’s a final and you must give your all. If AmaZulu can master that, they have a good chance of winning.”
Dearnaley added that luck on the day is also important, reflecting on the 1992 final against Chiefs when they were fortunate to have survived a scare after Chiefs threw everything at them.
“Again, you need luck in the final. When I watch the video clips of the 1992 final I see that we should have lost that game … Chiefs should have won maybe 7-2 but they missed a lot of chances and our keeper Shadrack Biemba made a lot of saves.”
“Madlinyoka”, as Dearnaley is nicknamed, encouraged Usuthu to deploy an offensive approach and score an early goal.
“I know coaches are always cautious in the finals, waiting for the opponent to fire the first salvo. But I want AmaZulu to go all out as early as the first whistle … they must search for that early goal to settle the nerves,” the 53-year-old said.
Dearnaley scored the opener in the 1992 final but a late Johannes Phadime goal sent the match into extra time. Usuthu then found two more goals from Simon Magagula and Ephraim Mwelase to shock Amakhosi at FNB Stadium.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
What Usuthu must do to match Class of ’92 — Dearnaley
Chase an early goal and settle nerves, former AmaZulu star advises his old team ahead of MTN8 final
Talking from experience on how to win against favourites in a cup final, AmaZulu great George Dearnaley has given Usuthu some pointers on how they can stun Orlando Pirates in the MTN8 final at a sold-out Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday (6pm).
Dearnaley, who still holds the record of most goals in a single season for AmaZulu after netting 23 times in 1992, played a telling role when the Durban club humbled then cup kings Kaizer Chiefs 3-1 to lift the 1992 Coca-Cola Cup. That triumph remains Usuthu’s only piece of silverware to date.
“AmaZulu players must make sure they don’t get too excited about the occasion because the atmosphere will always favour the bigger club, which is Pirates in this case.
“Pirates are used to playing finals and they have just come from playing against Chiefs in front of 90,000 people, so the occasion must not get to the heads of AmaZulu players,” Dearnaley said.
“The second thing is you need the whole team to have a good game. AmaZulu can’t afford one or two players to have a bad game. Everybody must put in an effort … it’s a final and you must give your all. If AmaZulu can master that, they have a good chance of winning.”
Dearnaley added that luck on the day is also important, reflecting on the 1992 final against Chiefs when they were fortunate to have survived a scare after Chiefs threw everything at them.
“Again, you need luck in the final. When I watch the video clips of the 1992 final I see that we should have lost that game … Chiefs should have won maybe 7-2 but they missed a lot of chances and our keeper Shadrack Biemba made a lot of saves.”
“Madlinyoka”, as Dearnaley is nicknamed, encouraged Usuthu to deploy an offensive approach and score an early goal.
“I know coaches are always cautious in the finals, waiting for the opponent to fire the first salvo. But I want AmaZulu to go all out as early as the first whistle … they must search for that early goal to settle the nerves,” the 53-year-old said.
Dearnaley scored the opener in the 1992 final but a late Johannes Phadime goal sent the match into extra time. Usuthu then found two more goals from Simon Magagula and Ephraim Mwelase to shock Amakhosi at FNB Stadium.
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