Pernell Mckop’s Stellenbosch shines in Mzansi

WINNING a final is special but some clubs have made an art of simply reaching the final!

In South Africa’s one of the most valuable football competitions, Stellenbosch FC and TS Galaxy recently made their first appearance in the Carling Knockout Cup final on Saturday, ensuring a new name gets engraved on the list of winners.

With former Zimbabwe Under-20 star Pernell Mckop as their goalkeepers coach, Stellenbosch FC became the third topflight side in South Africa’s elite football history to win the Carling Black Label Cup contest.

McKop is a former Arcadia, Cosmos, Eagles and Highlanders Football Club goalkeeper.

His brothers Tyrone and Henry played for the Young Warriors with the latter starring during the Dream Team era for the Warriors.

He made history in 1982 when he was called up to the senior national team from the Under-20s with Godfrey Paradza.

He was involved in the coaching of some of Zimbabwe’s best goalkeepers during the Dream Team era.

“It’s Stellenbosch FC’s fourth season in the PSL and just by getting to our first ever cup final we made history, and by winning it, is really such a special achievement. One of a kind feeling. Just knowing that years from now when people look back in history, we would have been the first to have won the club’s first major knockout trophy,” said Mckop in an interview from his base in South Africa.

In the early 1990s Pernell assisted with the coaching of goalkeepers with the Dream Team on a part time basis where he had the opportunity of coaching greats such as Bruce Grobbelar and Brenna Msiska.

He joined Stellenbosch FC in their first season in the South African elite football league in June 2019.

Interestingly, Stellenbosch FC achieved their breathtaking fate without playing a home game at any stage.

It was a development that saw Stellenbosch FC win their first-ever major cup title after defeating TS Galaxy 5-4 on penalties in Durban on Saturday.

The initial phases reportedly saw the Cape Winelands side fail to pose a threat to the Rockets. Despite facing pressure, TS Galaxy successfully opened the scoring just before halftime when Lehlohonolo Mojela’s shot inside the box, with a slight deflection, found the top corner.

Mojela’s impact remained instrumental for TS Galaxy and throughout the match he reportedly posed a constant challenge for Stellies and earned an impressive 87.6 rating in the Top Players & Ratings section.

After a sluggish start to the game, Stellenbosch eventually hit their stride in the second half, securing an equaliser and intensifying the pressure on their opposition to stretch the match to extra time

In the second stanza of the game Stellenbosch aimed to secure an equaliser and succeeded when Ismael Toure capitalised on TS Galaxy’s failure to clear their lines to bring his team back into the match.

Following their first-half lead, Galaxy struggled to capitalise on opportunities in the second stanza and failed to maintain a solid defensive line, resulting in Stellies’ equaliser.

Nevertheless, after the regular 90 minutes, the game proceeded into extra time and eventually led to a penalty shootout, resulting in Stellies securing the victory – 5-4 on penalties.

The Carling Knockout Cup is played between 16 top-flight teams and has gone under several different names.
Stellenbosch has two Premier Soccer League (PSL) matches ahead, facing Sekhukhune United on Friday, and visiting Orlando Pirates in Soweto on December 29.

Meanwhile, the Rockets will encounter Golden Arrows on Saturday, and Chippa United on Saturday, December 30. — @FungaiMuderere