Sekhukhune United head coach Brandon Truter has called on his players to stand up and be counted as they look to bounce back against Moroka Swallows at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Wednesday evening.
Kick-off is at 7:30pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)
Babina Noko were dumped out of the MTN8 at the first hurdle on Saturday after crashing to a heavy 5-0 defeat against defending champions Orlando Pirates in Soweto.
Truter's side had started the DStv Premiership season with a 2-1 loss to Mamelodi Sundowns, but they responded in perfect fashion by beating Cape Town Spurs 2-0 three days later.
Truter insists they cannot afford to hide from the mauling suffered at the hands of the Buccaneers and wants to see a reaction against the Dube Birds.
"I actually think we were awful, the first half we were awful," he said of the performance against Pirates in the MTN8 quarterfinals.
"But there were defensive mistakes. First goal defensive mistake [we] should've cleared, second goal turnover. Third goal defensive mistake, fourth goal defensive mistake.
"So, it's a lot to look at but its lessons learned from this defeat. You can't hide. The worse you can do now is hide from this defeat but the lessons learned is going to be key for us."
Swallows also bowed out of the competition following a 1-0 reverse to Sundowns in Pretoria on Saturday, where they were forced to play the majority of the game with just 10 men after Andile Jali received his marching orders in the seventh minute for a studs-up challenge on Teboho Mokoena.
Steve Komphela is still searching for his first victory at the helm, having kicked off his tenure with a 1-1 draw against Golden Arrows before being beaten 1-0 by Cape Town City in the league.
However, Komphela has already seen progress since he took charge at the Dobsonville Stadium in July and feels his players will soon click into gear.
"It's not far off. I think coming into our last match, one will say we were at 35 or 40 per cent, but what I saw took me to 60 per cent and the red card as well and how we reacted after that I thought we are getting there," he said after the loss to Masandawana.
"It is not easy, it takes time. But it's ending because people need to know how we work. But quickly we must click."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Sekhukhune United
Siphosakhe Ntiya-Ntiya: The former Kaizer Chiefs left-back was disappointing against Pirates, having been at fault for two of the five goals. Ntiya-Ntiya, who has started all three games for Sekhukhune this season, was caught out of position numerous times in the cup-tie and will be targeting an improved performance for the midweek visit of Swallows.
Moroka Swallows
Kagiso Malinga: The former SuperSport United winger has yet to get off the mark in three starts for Swallows, but he looked threatening against Cape Town City and produced a fine save out of Darren Keet early in the second half before seeing another header cleared off the line. Malinga enjoyed his best season at Swallows in 2022-23, scoring six goals in the DStv Premiership, his best tally to date.
