Marumo Gallants fuelled by cup final to finish season strong

Gallants fell just short of the big prize when they lost to Orlando Pirates at the Peter Mokaba Stadium and Nduna says they have not been demoralised by that result, but it rather fuelled them even more to go for bigger things.

They will be part of the draw for the Nedbank Cup last 32 tomorrow in Johannesburg, and will hope to at least go deep into that competition as well.

"Going all the way to the final has motivated the players quite a lot, and we all remember how we performed as a team to reach that point. The players came back a little bit early to prepare for the rest of the season in 2026 - that's how motivated they are."

READ: Man City beat Newcastle to take control of Carabao Cup semi-final, Howe still fighting

Nduna says the squad is currently in camp in Bloemfontein at the moment to try and polish up on their plans for the season.

Gallants travel to Mbombela to face TS Galaxy in their first game of 2026, which will be their last game of the first round of matches this season.

Marumo finished the 2024/25 Betway Premiership season in 10th position, just before parting ways with then coach Abdeslam Ouaddou.

He says the aim is to improve on that standing and even boldly declared that a top six finish is within their reach.

While Nduna was reluctant to reveal any transfer movements they’ve busy with, he did confirm that there could be some new faces at Bahlabane ba Ntwa in the coming days.

"We are indeed looking at a couple of players, but when the time is right and we are 100% sure about what we want to do, we will make some announcements."