Deano van Rooyen has welcomed the addition of the Carling Knockout to the PSL calendar and believes Stellenbosch FC can become the first team to have their name engraved on the new trophy.

Stellenbosch FC will travel to the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha this weekend to take on Chippa United in the Round of 16 of the Carling Knockout – the successor to the top-flight knockout tournament previously known as the Telkom Knockout.

Fixture details: Stellenbosch FC v Chippa United (Carling Knockout Round of 16)

The introduction of the new competition to the domestic calendar has excited captain Deano van Rooyen who reveals that he and his teammates have welcomed the opportunity to compete for another piece of silverware.

“The Carling Knockout is a new tournament and for us as a team, we want to compete and win trophies, so we see this competition as another opportunity for us to do that,” Van Rooyen said.

Stellenbosch have proved to be a competitive outfit in the cup competitions in recent seasons after reaching consecutive semi-finals in the Nedbank Cup and MTN8, and the on-field skipper believes his side can draw from those experiences to go all the way this time around.

“We reached the semi-finals in the Nedbank Cup last season and the MTN8 this season, so confidence is high,” he added. “We know that we can do it, we just need to find that next gear to get into the final. It would be history-making for us as a club to become the first team to win it.

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“But, we first have to win our first game this weekend which is an important one against Chippa United.  They are a good side, we’ve watched a few games of theirs and they have some quality players so we’re going to have to roll up our sleeves for a fight.”

Saturday’s Round of 16 encounter against Chippa United is scheduled to kick off at 15h00. Traveling supporters can purchase their tickets for R50.00 from Ticketpro here.