Stellenbosch face Durban City in Carling Knockout first round at Chatsworth Stadium on Wednesday

Stellenbosch coach Gavin Hunt fancies his team’s chances of winning the Carling Knockout this season, saying this competition has favoured underdogs in the past.

Stellenbosch, who won the inaugural edition of the Carling Knockout under their previous mentor Steve Barker in 2023, face Durban City in the first round of this season’s edition at Chatsworth Stadium on Wednesday (7pm).

“In any cup competition there’s always a chance to win it and I think if you look at this competition, it’s got quite a history of underdogs winning it, so I really think we stand a good chance to win it,” Hunt said.

Orlando Pirates are the defending champions of this competition, while less-fancied Magesi won it in 2024, before they were relegated the following season.

Hunt also insinuated that playing his former side Durban, away, was slightly more favourable for them as they’ve played a few of their home games in Durban this season when venues in the Western Cape weren’t available for various reasons.

“The draw is always important, who you play, where you play, but for us it’s difficult because we are playing away,” Hunt noted.

“But maybe Durban is home away from home because we used to play there. So it is what it is,” Hunt added in his assessment of the fixture.

The Cape Winelands side would be hoping to use the Carling Knockout to change their fortunes, having endured a somewhat slow start to the season in the league, where they have won just two of their eight fixtures, with two draws and four defeats.