Maritzburg United captain Bevan Fransman insists that playing in his hometown will give him added motivation to lead his team to victory against Free State Stars, writes DYLAN APPOLIS.

The KwaZulu-Natal side are preparing for the Nedbank Cup final against Ea Lla Koto at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.

Fransman says he is eager to lead the Team of Choice out into a match of this magnitude in his hometown.

‘For me, this is a very special game,’ Fransman said.

‘It’s at home and all the friends and family will be in the stadium to support. Usually, when we come down for a league game, to play Ajax or City, they [supporters] have to sit as the away fans – this time they can get behind Maritzburg and make us feel like the home team.

‘But, for this final, there is certainly added motivation for me to lead the team out for a final in the city I was born.’

The Team of Choice ended their 2017-18 Absa Premiership campaign in fourth place with 44 points, after 11 wins, 11 draws and eight losses from 30 matches this season.

‘This season we said if we concede less than 26 goals, we should do well if you look, you will see that we only let in 23 goals in the league this season and we finished fourth on the log,’ he added.

‘So it’s worked well – because a team always has to have a base from which to work from.’

The match at Cape Town Stadium kicks off at 7pm.

Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix