Cape Town City coach Benni McCarthy has admitted that his side will face psychological challenges in this year’s MTN8 final, after defeat at the same stadium, against the same team, last season.
The Premier Soccer League revealed on Monday that the Moses Mabhida Stadium will host a repeat of last year’s MTN8 final when SuperSport United and the Citizens battle it out for the trophy and the R8-million prize money on 29 September.
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Last year, after a 1-1 draw in normal time, it was Matsatsantsa who were victorious, winning 4-2 on penalties in Durban.
McCarthy has admitted that while the stadium will provide a good setting, his team will have to be wary of the emotional and mental scars of last year’s defeat.
‘It’s a nice site, but in 90 minutes of football, it won’t be easy. Psychologically, it can have its ups or downs,’ said McCarthy.
‘We’re playing the same team at the same stadium and we’ll probably be in the exact same dressing room because they won’t want to surrender that winning dressing room that they were in.
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‘It will bring new memories for the players but it might have a side effect that, “Sigh, we remember what it felt like coming into this dressing room, knowing that we should have won the game but ended up on the losing side”.
‘So, psychologically that is something that I might have to work on with my players – how to overcome that – but I think it’s a privilege for my boys to have again gone out and played exceptionally well.
‘This time it is to try everything in our power – whatever we can do to try and win it, because coming second-best isn’t an option,’ concluded McCarthy.
