PIC: Casric Stars defeated AmaZulu in Durban in the 2026 Nedbank Cup quarter-finals

The Nedbank Cup semi-finals will be staged this coming weekend, with two intriguing match-ups as the remaining four sides eye a place in the final on May 2.

Durban City host Casric Stars at Chatsworth Stadium on Saturday, 4 April (kick-off 15h00), while Milford FC travel to Solomon Mahlangu Stadium a day later to meet TS Galaxy (15h00).

Both ties are battles between top-flight hosts and second-tier visitors, with City against Stars the first test of whether the lower-league clubs can book a place in the final.

Here are five things to note ahead of that tie.

Past meetings

These two sides met in the Motsepe Foundation Championship last season before City were promoted to the top flight. Both of those games ended in home wins.

City claimed a 2-1 success at Chatsworth Stadium despite going behind to a Lesego Sebetlela opener for Stars in the first half.

Joslin Kamatuka equalised for City on 55 minutes, before Mfanafuthi Mkhize got what proved to be the winner on 65 minutes.

Stars got their revenge in the return fixture as they secured a 1-0 victory at Solomon Mahlangu Stadium. Lebogang Lesako scored the only goal of the game on the half-hour mark.

They also met four times previously when Durban City played under the Maritzburg United brand. United won three of those to go with a draw, so overall they have four wins, a draw and a defeat in six games against Stars.

Home vs away

Home defeats for Durban City have been rare this season, with only the Soweto duo of Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs travelling to KwaZulu-Natal and coming away with a win.

In fact, the club have lost only four home games out of their last 31 in front of their own fans (W22 D5) since the start of the 2024/25 season.

They have played five cup games in that time and have not lost outright, with three wins and two draws, though they were ousted from the Nedbank Cup quarter-finals by Marumo Gallants on penalties in 2025.

Stars are on a seven-game unbeaten run away from home (W4 D3), which includes all four of their ties in the Nedbank Cup this campaign, including the preliminary round.

This will be their eighth Nedbank Cup tie, including the preliminary round, and all eight have been away from home. They have advanced in six of them, with their only defeat coming to Kaizer Chiefs in the Last 32 in 2023.

Rare hat-trick?

Stars are going for a rare hat-trick when they face City, looking to dump three top-flight sides out of the competition in as many rounds.

The last time that happened was in the 2009 season, when University of Pretoria beat Kaizer Chiefs (4-3) in the Last 16 and followed that up with wins over Bloemfontein Celtic (1-0) and Ajax Cape Town (2-1). They lost to Moroka Swallows (1-0) in the final.

No other lower-league side has managed to do the same.
Stars have already beaten Orlando Pirates in the Last 16 and AmaZulu in the quarter-finals this season. The latter fixture was also in Durban.

Extra time

City have won all three of their Nedbank Cup ties in 2026 via penalties, which is a Nedbank Cup record for successive wins by spot-kicks.

Given that they lost on penalties to Marumo Gallants in the 2025 quarter-finals, it means their last four ties have all gone beyond the extra 30 minutes and required spot-kicks. That is also a Nedbank Cup record.

Added to that, their tie before Gallants also went to extra time, though it was settled before penalties were needed. So none of City’s last five ties in the competition have been settled within 90 minutes. Another record.

The last time they won outright was a 2-0 success against then fellow second-tier side Lerumo Lions in the Last 32 in 2025.

Lucky number five?

Stars are hoping to become the fifth second-tier side to reach the Nedbank Cup final since 2008.

Mpumalanga Black Aces (2008), University of Pretoria (2009), Black Leopards (2011) and TS Galaxy (2019) are the others, with the latter the only side to have lifted the trophy when they beat Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 in the decider.

Milford FC will have the same ambition when they face, ironically, Galaxy on Sunday.