CITY MAKE ‘VICTORIOUS’ DOWNS PAY THE PENALTY
MAMELODI SUNDOWNS ...................... (1) 0 Silva 26
CAPE TOWN CITY ......................................... 0
City win 4-2 on penalties
RESULT:
JUST like the MTN8 title has eluded Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane yet again, it appears Benni McCarthy has a love affair with this competition.
In a repeat of last season’s final, Cape Town City will face SuperSport United on September 29 at a venue yet to be decided by the Premier Soccer League.
City came to Atteridgeville with a single goal advantage from last weekend’s first leg in the Mother City and were determined to not only protect it, but add to their tally as well.
However, they found a Sundowns side in a mean mood. The Brazilians had not been able to score a goal in their last four matches, a crisis that had cost them a place in the quarter-finals of the CAF Champions League several days earlier at the same venue against Guinea’s Horoya.
Toni Silva put an end to that dry spell when he finished off a move that was started by midfielder Themba Zwane’s longrange attempt from outside the box to test goalkeeper Peter Leeuwenburg.
The ball rebounded into the path of striker Ali Meza, who squared a pass across to Silva who guided the ball into the net.
But Sundowns needed a few more if they were to reach the final; yet it wasn’t to be and they were forced into the lottery of penalties.
Leeuwenburg was the hero for the visitors, able to deny Silva during the shoot-out, as well as Anthony Laffor.
City, for their part, scored all four of their spot kicks to book a date in the final with SuperSport, who beat Kaizer Chiefs 3-2 on aggregate at the FNB Stadium on Saturday night.
So a horror patch for Sundowns ended with them being eliminated from two competitions in a single week, meaning they will now only focus on their domestic commitments and retaining their league title before turning their attention to the Champions League again later in December.
McCarthy will be desperate to win his first cup in only two years as a top-flight coach. The same obviously goes for Kaitano Tembo at SuperSport United. Tembo might have been an assistant during the time Matsatsantsa reached five cup finals in the last three years, but this final is all his doing and he will want to go all the way.
The Fifa break and one or two league matches in the next few weeks gives both coaches time to work on their squads ahead of the final, which will be a thriller if what we saw the last time they met is anything to go by.