Stars want Sundowns in final

Johannesnirg - Free State Stars owner Mike Mokoena is hoping to avoid Mamelodi Sundowns in the Nedbank Cup semi-finals, but only in order to set up a "great match" in the final.

Ea Lla Koto booked their place in the last-four with a tightly contested 1-0 victory over Kaizer Chiefs on Saturday, while the Brazilians also progressed at the expense of Maritzburg United.

The other two sides to enter the draw for the semi's are SuperSport United and AmaZulu, and Mokoena says he would much rather face one of those two teams, and save Sundowns for the cup climax.

"I'm crossing my fingers that we do not meet Sundowns in the semi-finals so that there will be a great match to end the season," Mokoena told The Sowetan.

"Coach Steve Komphela, the technical staff and the boys have done a great job. I have never been so happy in my life in a long time.

"We planned for this game. Chiefs were predictable. We knew they would field senior players, some of whom were not playing recently. You could see some of them were tired after 30 minutes.

"When Dove Wome scored that goal, I knew they wouldn't come back. It has been just over 20 years since Stars won a major title in an official competition. We have worked very hard to be where we are and there is light at the end of the tunnel. The title drought is finally coming to an end," he added.

The draw for the Nedbank Cup semi-finals will take place on Monday morning.