And then there were eight. Well, more like seven or 10, depending on how you count. The Royal AM saga means we’ll have to wait a bit longer for the eighth team to be decided, but for now, the line-up for tonight’s draw reads Stellenbosch, SuperSport, Durban City, Marumo Gallants, Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates, and Sundowns.
Here are five stats from the Last 16 weekend…
On Tshegofatso Mabasa’s hat-trick
44 - The hat-trick against Baroka represented Mabasa’s 42nd, 43rd and 44th goals for Orlando Pirates. He is now outright the 2nd-highest scorer for the club in the PSL era.
Top scorers for Pirates (PSL era only):
58 - Vilakazi Benedict
44 - Mabasa Tshegofatso
41 - Lesley Manyathela
41 - Phumlani Mkhize
39 - Denis Lota
On Pirates scoring consistently
50 - Since Nedbank sponsored the competition (2007/8 onwards), Pirates have scored in 50 of the 52 matches they have played, blanking only in the 2015 Last 16 (v SuperSport) and the 2018 Last 16 (v CT City).
Most games scored in since Nedbank sponsorship (2007/8):
55 - Sundowns (7 blanks)
50 - Pirates (2 blanks)*
40 - Kaizer Chiefs (7 blanks)
36 - SuperSport United (10 blanks)
34 - Black Leopards (9 blanks)
On teams reaching the quarter-finals
21 - Sundowns have reached the quarter-finals of the competition on 21 occasions in the PSL era, more than any other side.
Most quarter-finals in this competition (PSL era only):
21 - Sundowns
16 - Pirates
15 - SuperSport
14 - Kaizer Chiefs
11 - Bloemfontein Celtic
On Pirates’ unbeaten run
14 - Under Jose Riveiro, Orlando Pirates are now unbeaten in 12 Nedbank Cup games. This extends to 14 for the club if you include the win over AmaZulu (2022 L32) and the draw with Marumo Gallants (2022 L16, where they lost the shootout).
Longest unbeaten runs in the competition:
17 - Santos (2001-2005)
16 - Sundowns (2020-2023)
15 - Orlando Pirates (1996-2000)
14 - Orlando Pirates (2022- date)*
On Gaston Sirino’s Cup pedigree
30 - The goal against Chippa was Gaston Sirino’s 30th in Cup competitions, making him just the 5th player in PSL history to score 30 goals in non-league competition.
Most goals in Cup competitions (PSL era only):
38 - Peter Shalulile
31 - Tico-Tico Bucuane
30 - Daine Klate
30 - Suprise Moriri
30 - Gaston Sirino*
BONUS
8 - Sundowns have received eight red cards this season across competitions, more than any other side, and more than they had throughout all of last season (6).
