The Premier Soccer League (PSL) has unveiled the Mpumalanga-based team set to host defending champions Orlando Pirates in the last 32 of the Nedbank Cup.
In a statement released by the PSL on Monday morning, it has been confirmed that SAFA Division club Crystal Lake will be the team that takes on the Buccaneers on Saturday at the Mbombela Stadium, as reported by KickOff.
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KickOff reported that the confirmation of Pirates' opponents had been delayed by a case between Crystal Lake and ABC Motsepe side Middelburg United.
Following Crystal Lake's 1-0 win over Middelburg on 15 November 2023, the latter is understood to have lodged a complaint with the SAFA Disciplinary Committee, accusing the hosts of having an imposter physio in their technical team.
When the case was dismissed as a non-complaint, the ABC Motsepe side appealed once more, this time to the SAFA Arbitration who would dismiss the case with costs.
"They (Middelburg United) are bad losers. First fairly lost the match in the field of play and then went on to lose in the boardroom twice (SAFA DC and Arbitration). They should have accepted defeat an moved on," said Crystal president Joe Mhlanga in a club statement on Saturday.
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The news will come as some relief to the Sea Robbers who have just several days to prepare for their now-unveiled opponents.
"We are not really focused on that (unknown Nedbank Cup last 32 opponent), even if we know our opponents, with us it doesn't change," club captain Innocent Maela told journalists a week prior to the PSL's announcement.
"The focus remains with us, how we do, how we prepare, how we execute and how we implement our game plan.
"Yes, we do watch our opponents and we study them. It's important that we know and hopefully we are going to find out soon so that our analysts and everyone can start preparing accordingly."
The match is scheduled to kick-off on Saturday at 15:00.
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