TS Galaxy will be looking to avenge their 2-1 defeat in the Betway Premiership when they play Chippa United in the Carling Knockout Cup round of 16 fixture at the Mbombela Stadium on Sunday (3pm).
After its successful debut in 2023, the Carling Knockout Cup returns for the second edition this week.
The inaugural tournament, which pitted the 16 Premier Division teams against each other, was a success.
Chippa were knocked out by defending champions Stellenbosch in the first round of the competition last season.
Stellies went on to beat TS Galaxy on penalties in the 2023/2024 final, and this season, Stellenbosch face AmaZulu in the opening round.
TS Galaxy player Siphiwe Mahlangu said their loss to the Chilli Boys in their previous league fixture still haunted the players as they believed they could have easily won.
“I am excited about the draw and playing against Chippa,” Mahlangu said.
“Chippa is the last team we played against in the Betway Premiership, they beat us and we were not too happy because it was a game we were meant to win.
“We created many chances but we just failed to put the ball at the back of the net, so now we are looking to rectify that in this fixture, especially playing at home.
“We will bring our A game.”
After finishing sixth on the log last season, one would expect the Rockets would have picked up from their previous success going into the new season, but that has not been the case.
The Mbombela side have had a poor start to the league season, losing all three of their matches.
TS Galaxy lost 1-0 to Richards Bay in their league opener, followed by another 1-0 defeat to SuperSport United.
Their most recent setback was against Chippa.
The 29-year-old right winger knows the lack of scoring has been the biggest contributing factor to their slow start.
“It’s very depressing and as players we are not happy with our situation.
“We might have got it wrong in the scoring part.
“Yes, last season I scored 10 goals but last season there was Samir Nurković and Lehlohonolo Mojela who were also scoring.
“If you notice now I am the only one left from last season’s top goal scorers.
“We need to fix that because we are creating chances but we just need to score,” he said.
The fixtures are:
October 18: AmaZulu vs Stellenbosch (King Zwelithini Stadium, 7pm)
October 19: Orlando Pirates vs Magesi (Orlando Stadium, 3pm), Cape Town City vs Royal AM (Athlone Stadium, 3pm), Mamelodi Sundowns vs Golden Arrows (Lucas Moripe Stadium, 6pm), Polokwane City vs Marumo Gallants (Old Peter Mokaba Stadium, 8pm).
October 20: TS Galaxy vs Chippa United (Mbombela Stadium, 3pm), SuperSport United vs Kaizer Chiefs (New Peter Mokaba Stadium, 3pm), Richards Bay vs Sekhukhune United (King Zwelithini Stadium, 5.30pm).
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