Sundowns double win a sign of Stellies strength says Fawaaz Basadien

The side coached by Steve Barker beat TS Galaxy in the quarter-finals and followed that up with back-to-back wins over Mamelodi Sundowns in the semi-finals, setting up their fixture against title holders Orlando Pirates in Durban.

Basadien believes this is the kind of run that proved Stellies’ strength.

"The two games against Mamelodi Sundowns and TS Galaxy obviously not easy teams to play against so getting a result against Galaxy in the quarterfinal was important because we knew that we want to challenge for this cup," Basadien said.

"After we got the results, no matter what team we got in the semi-final we knew our goal was to reach the final and we put in two good performances against Sundowns, home and away. Obviously, that boosts the confidence of the guys, we are looking forward to the final and we are hoping to go all the way."

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The left back himself has been in sizzling form recently, scoring what many felt should easily be the contender for goal of the season in the 3-0 victory over Cape Town City last week.

Basadien touched on the stunning strike to beat goalkeeper Darren Keet.

"I did mean it but in that moment, I was looking to find Titus but once I saw they fouled Titus and he fell, I knew I didn't have options in front of me and I just looked up and saw Keet was struggling to get back and I just hit it,” he said.

“As soon as I hit it, I could feel that I got it well enough and this is a goal. To be honest I didn't really check all the messages, there are still quite a few messages that I got but people were just saying, that's the goal of the season and hopefully we'll win the goal of the season but we'll see."

One of the battles most anticipated ahead of the final at the Moses Mabhida Stadium is between Basadien and Pirates winger Monnapule Saleng.

The Stellies defender weighed in on that too.

"I think personally, I know Saleng as well and he knows me, we both have our strengths and our weaknesses but for me, it's on the day, the mentality that we as individuals but also for the team I think that's the most important thing," he added.

"Just putting on a good show for the team so long, if I do my job, the team will hopefully get the result. So, not too worried about the opposition, just trying to focus on my own game and hopefully we can reach the final and win it."