Outspoken Chippa United head coach Morgan Mammila has explained why he wanted to face a ‘limping’ Mamelodi Sundowns or one of the two Soweto giants in the new Carling Knockout.
At the draw of the Carling Cup in Johannesburg on Tuesday, Mammila expressed his disappointment at being drawn against Stellenbosch in the Last 16.
He said Stellies are not performing well this season and would have preferred to play against one of the DStv Premiership giants.
Mammila stated that playing Sundowns, Chiefs, or Pirates will benefit the province of the Eastern Cape as he is eager to see a sold-out match in Gqeberha.
MORGAN MAMMILA’S BIG THREE WISH
“To be honest, I’m disappointed. I thought I would get Sundowns while they were still limping after losing in the final (MTN8 to Pirates at the weekend), said ” Mammila.
“After not getting Sundowns, my prayer was to get Chiefs or Pirates, so I’m disappointed with the draw. As I said, I wish to play in a full stadium in PE; we are talking about more than 30,000 people in the stadium, which is good for football.
“Nevertheless, I got Stellenbosch, a hardworking team, a team that can run the whole 90 minutes, a team that proved to everyone to be good. We have proven also that we are a good team this season.
“We can play and match every team pound for pound, and it’s not a joke; we can do it. I am so looking forward to a good game, although disappointed. For me, it is to win the game against Stellenbosch to meet my wishlist.”
The PSL has yet to reveal the venues and kick-off times, but matches will occur on October 20/21/22.
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Mammila is a big dreamer, which is understandable as he was part of the Baroka FC team that beat Pirates in the final of the Telkom Knockout during the 2017/18 season. He was the CEO of the Limpopo side at the time.
“Yes, we can win this (Carling Knockout Cup). Luckily, I’m from a team that has tasted this competition while it was called Telkom. I won the competition with Baroka, so why not with Chippa? Against a Soweto team [Orlando Pirates],” he said.
“It was a long road because we started with Sundowns, (Bidvest) Wits, then Pirates, and even Chippa United can do the same; it’s a good side, one team in the province, playing good football; the dream is to lift it (Carling Cup trophy).