BY Obakeng Maje
The draw has been conducted and Fress State based club will square up against Mamelodi Sundowns while Amazulu meet Supersport United.
The date for the semi-FINAL WILL KICK OFF ON THE FIRST WEEK OF mAY.
Daily Archives: April 16, 2012
Drogba puts Torres in the shade…!!!!!!!!
Didier Drogba’s 84 minute display was superb, but 10 seconds of Chelsea’s 5-1 thrashing of Tottenham Hotspur should stand as proof that Roberto di Matteo must start him against Barcelona on Wednesday.
The Ivory Coast international may be 34 but his stunning goal at Wembley summed up why he should start against the Champions League holders – and extend his stay at Stamford Bridge
The moment came shortly before the interval. The Blues had just survived a pair of let-offs at the back as Rafael van der Vaart had had a header cleared off the line and a delicious cross had just evaded Emmanuel Adebayor before striking the post. It had been a cagey opening, but if anyone was going to break the deadlock it was Spurs.
Then, John Terry launched a long ball forward, as a method of pressure relief more than attacking intent. Drogba took control with his back to goal, held off William Gallas, flicked it out to his left in a move that seemed to take him away from a threatening position, a notion he dispelled immediately with a dexterous swivel and superb shot past Carlo Cudicini.
The Ivorian may be 34, but his strike was timeless, trademark Drogba – and it summed up completely why Barcelona will fear him far more than Fernando Torres.
Much has been made of Torres’ recent upturn in form, but all of it centres around its gradual nature. His work-rate, build-up play – smart crosses from the right wing, even. His goal to round off Chelsea’s Premier League win at Aston Villa was an encouraging sign of instinct slowly returning, but slowly is clearly the operative word.
The Spaniard is still finding his feet again and carries a visible nervousness in front of the net. His talents are known but there is absolutely zero sense that he is on the verge of an explosive, game-changing moment of brilliance of the kind that Drogba produced at Wembley.
That is the key. Picking weaknesses in this totemic, era-defining Barcelona outfit may seem like pointing out a shred of unripped shirt on the sleeve of the Incredible Hulk, but the aura of impregnability in their defence has waned, and must be targeted by a genuinely threatening striker if any side is to profit against them.
If Drogba starts on Wednesday, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol et al will be aware that his powers could flare at any moment. That lingering menace creates uncertainty which can be exploited.
He may not be as mobile as he once was, but Chelsea’s bastionary battering ram has proved yet again that he can produce on the big occasion. It is a lesson already learned once this season when he blasted the Blues past Valencia in the crucial final game of the Champions League group stage.
As his age advances, Drogba’s involvement across a whole season is of course decreasing, but it is for games like Wednesday’s for which Di Matteo must save him. It is a policy which should continue into next year.
Tsutsulupa: League title is within reach…!!!
Moroka Swallows skipper Lefa Tsutsulupa believes that they can win the League title this season.
“We are in a very good position to win the League title this year. When the season started, we were aiming for a top 8 finish. Now things have changed.”
These are the words of Tsutsulupa, who believes his team has the ability to complete their fairytale run by snatching the League title ahead of favourites Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates.
The Birds are third on the log with 42 points and pose the greatest threat to the title ambitions of Sundowns and Pirates, who are on 46 points.
In a chat with KickOff.com, the Swallows skipper attributes the team’s impressive performance to collective teamwork inspired by an experienced coach.
Veteran striker Siyabonga Nomvete and midfielder David Mathebula have been a major driving force for The Birds, scoring 19 League goals between them.
“We have worked hard as a team and deserve to be third on the log. Everyone has to be given the credit,” says Tsutsulupa, who has signed a new three-year deal with Swallows.
“As players we are focused on going all the way. Why should we think of winning the League next season when we have already built a good platform to achieve that this year?
“What is important is for us to win all our remaining matches,” adds Tsutsulupa.
Swallows meet Pirates in a League match at Dobsonville Stadium on Wednesday but will be without Tsutsulupa due to a yellow card suspension.
Tinashe’s shoes are big’ – Katsande!!!
BY Obakeng Rachwene and Kickoff.com
Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Willard Katsande says it will be a tough act for him to live up to comparisons with veteran Tinashe Nengomasha.
The Zimbabwean has replaced his countryman in Amakhosi’s midfield in recent weeks, leading many to question whether ‘The General’s’ time at the club has come to an end.
But Katsande, who started this weekend’s Nedbank Cup defeat to Free State Stars, insists Nengomasha still has a big role to play.
“I don’t feel I am here to replace Tinashe. You know back home in Zimbabwe, we normally play together,” he tells KickOff.com.
“The good thing is that people are comparing me to Tinashe, eish, it is a big challenge because Tinashe is great player. If people say that I am similar to him it makes me really happy. It is a great honour.”
And if he is in the process of replacing the established defensive midfielder, Katsande adds that his boots are big ones to fill.
“Tinashe’s shoes, eish, they are big – he is a great player and if you look at what he has achieved, he has done a lot. I will just try my best all the time,” the 26-year-old says.
While Nengomasha sits on the bench, Katsande is playing alongside Lucky Baloyi in the midfield and the Zimbabwean defensive midfielder admits he is enjoying his time.
“Lucky and I understand each other a lot, but we are still young and need to work hard to achieve our goals. We are always chatting about how to contain our opponents in the middle of the park, but I am happy to be playing regularly,” Katsande says.
WALE COMING TO SOUTH AFRICA!!!!
BY Obakeng Maje
Word on the streets is that Wale will be performing with J Cole’s DJ at Moloko in Hatfield, Pretoria on Saturday May 5th. That is just a couple of weeks to go. That is all we were tipped, but more information on the event will be released closer to the time. This will be the first time that the “Ambition” rapper comes to South Africa.
ANCYL adamant it decides on its leader!!
BY Stephen Grootes
As Julius Malema contemplates what could be his last week as a member of the African National Congress (ANC), the party’s youth league says it refuses to follow the party’s National Disciplinary Committee’s (NDC) instruction to stop him from acting as its leader.
The ANC on Sunday said it would simply not allow the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) to disobey its constitution.
Twelve days ago the NDC said it was suspending Malema from all party activities, after he told crowds at Wits University that President Jacob Zuma was a dictator.
Youth League Secretary General Sindiso Magaqa said the ANCYL will decide who will lead it.
“It will be upon us as the members of the ANC Youth League to take a decision whether the president must attend or must not attend.”
But the ANC’s Jackson Mthembu has a warning for the league.
“We will enforce the constitutional provisions of the ANC Constitution.”
NDC chair Derek Hanekom said this is a matter for Luthuli house to deal with.
(Edited by Clare Matthes)
CAPE TOWN GIRL,12 SHOT DEAD!!!
BY Regan Thaw
A 12-year-old girl was shot dead and at least two other children were wounded in a shooting in Bonteheuwel in Cape Town
Police said the incident, which occurred on Saturday night, was gang-related.
The police’s November Filander said, “In the shooting the girl died on the scene due to injuries and a 17-year-old girl was shot in the right foot. Another 12-year-old boy was shot.”
A man has been arrested in connection with the shooting and will appear in court soon .
6 people dead in JHB taxi accident!!!
BY Jacob Moshokoa
Johannesburg Emergency Management Services (EMS) confirmed six people, killed in a taxi accident on the N1 North on Monday morning, may have been sangomas travelling to a ritual ceremony in Zandspruit.
Five adults and a child were killed in the accident while six others were rushed to the Leratong Hospital in Soweto.
EMS spokesperson Synock Matobako said no other vehicles were involved in the accident.
“The taxi didn’t hit another car but rolled on its own.
“Possible speeding will not be excluded from the cause of the accident.”
Call for Police Minister to resign!!!
Phakamile Hlubi
There were calls on Sunday for Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa to resign, following reports that he looted the Crime Intelligence Fund for his personal use.
The City Press reported that he lied to the public when he denied reports that R200,000 of the fund’s money had been spent on security upgrades for his KwaZulu-Natal home.
The Institute of Accountability’s Paul Hoffman said it was clear that the police force’s leadership was in a sorry state.
“Jackie Selebi is sitting jail for 15 years for corruption, his successor is under suspension.”
Hoffman said until Mdluli was cleared of fraud and corruption charges by a court, the integrity of the police would always be questioned.
“It’s not the kind of milieu in which an anti-corruption ethos can be established.”
Mdluli was accused of looting crime intelligence resources for his own personal use.
He was suspended and re-instated in March.
Mthethwa called on the Auditor-General to investigate the claims that he abused state money to renovate his house, in a bid to clear his name.
Gauteng police reopen 7-year-old case!!!!
BY Mandy Wiener
Gauteng police confirmed last week that they were reopening an investigation into the abduction and murder of 10-year-old Marissa Naidoo.
Naidoo’s body was found in a suitcase in a flat in Benoni nearly seven years ago.
She was taken from her primary school three days prior.
The main suspect Raveen Rampershad jumped from the balcony of the flat she was found in and died.
Naidoo’s father, Lings, felt that an inquest into his daughter’s murder did not truly get to the bottom of the crime.
He was always convinced Rampershad did not work alone and spent years trying to convince authorities of this.
“I’ve been following up leads and I’ve been questioning people.
“Following my own daughter’s trial in court, I found that there were a lot of irregularities.”
He was finally granted an audience with Deputy Provincial Commissioner Tebello Mosikili who agreed to reopen the case.
Spokesperson Katlego Mogale admits some of the initial leads were not properly investigated.
“The case of abduction and subsequent death has been reopened.”
But police officers spent the past month looking for the original docket which appears to have gone missing.
The Guardian 