Baroka will welcome Bidvest Wits to the Peter Mokaba Stadium when the two sides square off in the semi-final of the Telkom Knockout on Sunday.

Previous Meetings:

2016/17
Baroka 0 Wits 2 (Monare, Malajila)
Wits 5 (Mkhwanazi 2, Klate, Uzoenyi, Mahlambi) Baroka 0

2017/18
Baroka 0 Wits 1 (Pule)
Wits 1 (Myeni) Baroka 1 (Motupa pen)
Telkom Knockout quarter-final – Wits 1 (Gamal) Baroka 0

Summary:

League matches played are in brackets
Total Wits Baroka
Home Home
Played 5 (4) 3 (2) 2 (2)
Wits won 4 (3) 2 (1) 2 (2)
Baroka won 0 0 0
Drawn 1 (1) 1 (1) 0
Wits goals 10 (9) 7 (6) 3 (3)
Baroka goals 1 (1) 1 (1) 0

Goalscorers: 

Bidvest Wits
2 goals – Mkhwanazi
1 – Monare, Malajila, Klate, Uzoenyi, Mahlambi, Pule, Gamal, Myeni

Baroka
1 goal – Motupa

Records:

Wits biggest win: 5-0 (2016/17)
Baroka biggest win: –
Most goals in a game: 5 – Wits 5 Baroka 0 (2016/17)

Match Facts:

Baroka and Bidvest Wits meet in the Telkom Knockout for the second season in a row after The Clever Boys claimed a 1-0 success in the quarterfinals in 2017 on their way to lifting the trophy. Egyptian forward Amr Gamal scored the only goal of the game on that occasion.

Baroka have reached the semifinal stage of the Telkom Knockout for the first time in their history having exited in the quarterfinals in the previous two seasons.

Wits will be played in a fifth Telkom Knockout semi-final in the PSL era. They lost in 2003 and 2004, but claimed victories in 2011 and 2017.

Baroka and Wits have clashed in five previous occasions with the encounters largely dominated by the Johannesburg team. They have four wins and a draw from those encounters, while they have outscored their opponents 10-1.

In fact, Baroka have yet to score from open play against Wits in almost eight hours of football, with their only goal a penalty from Gift Motupa in a 1-1 league draw at Wits last season.

Wits’ previous two away games against Baroka have resulted in 2-0 and 1-0 wins. Both were league encounters.

Wits have won each of their last six Telkom Knockout fixtures, scoring 10 goals in that time and conceding only three. Their last defeat was a 3-1 first round loss to Free State Stars in 2016.

This will be Baroka’s seventh Telkom Knockout game since they won promotion for the 2016-17 season and will be the sixth time they have played at home! The only time they have played away was that 1-0 loss at Wits last year.

Baroka have been involved in 11 cup matches in all competitions in their Premier Soccer League history. They have won seven and lost four.

In all Wits have played 43 matches in the Telkom Knockout in the PSL era. They have won 19 of those, lost 17 and been involved in seven draws. They have scored 43 goals to their opponents’ 42.

Wits are the defending Telkom Knockout champions. They endured a difficult campaign in the 2017/18 season, but shone in this competition as they claimed a third victory to follow successes in 1985 and 1995.

Baroka Club Record: 

Most appearances: Olaleng Shaku 55 starts
Most goals: Gift Motupa 9 goals
Most appearances in a single season: Olaleng Shaku 35 starts (2016/17)
Most goals in a single season: Gift Motupa 9 goals (2017/18)
Record win: 3-1 v Platinum Stars, 23 October, 2016 (Telkom Knockout, first round); 3-1 vs Chippa United, 12 September, 2017 (League); 3-1 vs SuperSport United, 17 December, 2017 (League); 2-0 on eight occasions
Record defeat: 0-5 v BidVest Wits, 22 February, 2017 (League)
*Correct as at 20/11/18

Bidvest Wits Club Record: 

Most appearances: Peter Gordon 442 games
Most goals: Peter Gordon 57 goals
Most appearances in a single season: Andy Geddes 46 games (1986)
Most goals in a single season: Frank McGrellis 29 goals (1985)
Record win: 14-0 v Cardiff City, 16 September, 1986 (Mainstay Cup first supplementary round)
Record defeat: 1-6 v Kaizer Chiefs, 14 October, 1990 (first division)
*Correct as at 20/11/18

Tournament Facts: 

The Telkom Knockout was first played in 1982 as the Datsun Challenge, with the inaugural winners being Arcadia Shepherds, who defeated Highlands Park 2-0 in a replay after their initial match had finished 1-1.

Kaizer Chiefs are the most successful club in the tournament’s history, winning 13 of their 17 finals to date. They have appeared in almost half of the 36 finals played.

Orlando Pirates by contrast have a poor record in the competition, reaching eight finals and winning just one (2011). They have appeared in four of the last eight deciders, but their 2011 effort against BidVest Wits (3-1) was their only success.

After Kaizer Chiefs, the next highest number of tournament wins is three, with Mamelodi Sundowns having reached that mark in their 2015 victory and defending champions BidVest Wits notched their third in 2017. Ajax Cape Town, Jomo Cosmos, the now defunct Platinum Stars and Umtata Bush Bucks each have two wins.

Since Telkom took over their sponsorship of the tournament in 2006, there have been nine different winners – Kaizer Chiefs (three titles), Platinum Stars (two), Ajax Cape Town, Orlando Pirates, Bloemfontein Celtic, SuperSport United, Mamelodi Sundowns, Cape Town City and BidVest Wits.

There have also been eight losing finalists – Orlando Pirates (three times), Mamelodi Sundowns (two), Ajax Cape Town (two), BidVest Wits, Platinum Stars, Kaizer Chiefs, SuperSport United and Bloemfontein Celtic.

The biggest winning margin in a Telkom Knockout competition final was 5-0 when Kaizer Chiefs defeated Jomo Cosmos in 2001.

Since Telkom took over sponsorship of the competition in 2006, the 12 finals have been played at 10 different venues:

Photo: Aubrey Kgakatsi /BackpagePix