Dan “Dance” Malesela may have come to prominence with unfancied clubs in his coaching career, but the TS Galaxy coach has already been to three domestic cup semifinals in the past four years.
Even without stability in all his stints at the helm, the achievement puts the 53-year-old ahead of his colleagues in this year’s Nedbank Cup quarterfinal line-up.
Malesela has reached the last four of the Ke Yona competition twice – with Chippa United in 2016 and with the now defunct first division outfit United FC in 2013. He was also at the helm when Chippa progressed to the MTN8 semifinals last year.
Can the mentor from Mabopane reach the same heights with Galaxy?
“I might have achieved it with different teams, but the experience counts. Hopefully it rubs off and it becomes fourth time lucky for me,” quipped Malesela ahead of his team’s meeting with Cape Umoya United in an all-NFD quarterfinal clash in Cape Town on Wednesday.
This time around, the legendary erstwhile Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns defender will pit his wits against 36-year-old Umoya coach Dominic Isaacs, who was a defender during his playing days.
Both coaches couldn’t quite predict what Wednesday held for their teams as they have already crossed paths this season, with Isaacs’ side putting one over on Galaxy in their league game last month.
“It was a sore loss because we were dominating that match,” recalled Malesela. He maintained that his team was unlucky to go down 1-0 in the NFD tie on February 1 at Athlone Stadium, which is also their venue for Wednesday’s game.
“We haven’t won on the three occasions we played in Cape Town this season, but we are hoping to change that,” said Malesela in reference to previous league outings in the Mother City against Ajax Cape Town, Umoya and Ubuntu Cape Town between January and this month. They lost all of them.
Galaxy are coming off a 1-0 defeat to Maccabi FC last weekend.
“We now have to shift our focus and switch to everything that has got to do with a cup game.”
Galaxy (8th place) and Umoya (11th) are separated by three points on the NFD table with six games to wrap up the NFD campaign.
Isaacs’ side are heading to the cup game at the end of a four-match unbeaten run, which has seen them move away from the bottom three. The former Ajax defender cited “proper planning” as being behind Umoya’s revival.
“We have a full-strength team for Wednesday’s game. We are looking forward to this one because I know coach Dan’s philosophy,” he said.