Maboe shines as Maritzburg advance
● Maritzburg United are having their best season on record and now they are into the Nedbank Cup semifinals after edging Bloemfontein Celtic 2-1 in yesterday's quarterfinal at Harry Gwala Stadium.
Lebohang Maboe put United ahead in the first minute, Jacky Motshegwa equalised for Celtic in the 76th, then Andrea Fileccia scored the 80th-minute winner.
A makeshift defence — United were missing stalwarts Bevan Fransman and Brian Onyango, with Bokang Tlhone and Rushine de Reuck coming in — meant Maritzburg never quite had the platform that the stingiest defensive team in the Premier Soccer League normally launch their attacks from.
But they did still have their famed counterattack and, while Celtic had their chances, Maritzburg had more.
Ultimately the young, exciting, team from the KwaZulu-Natal capital, led from midfield by promising playmaker Lebogang Maboe — man of the match — had too much energy and pace for a determined Celtic.
Maritzburg took the lead 26 seconds from the start. Celtic rightback Aphiwe Lubisa’s attempted clearance was blocked by Filecia and fell to Maboe on the edge of the area.
United’s highly rated young midfielder neatly took the ball onto his left foot, sending defender Lorenzo Gordinho the wrong way, and finished low past Kabelo Dambe.
The pace of Maritzburg’s attack troubled Celtic, and in the 25th minute a route-one ball from Richard Ofori eluded everyone and Bandile Shandu was free to run through oneon-one with Dambe, smashing a strike onto the crossbar.
It was all United in the first 25 minutes. But it was the Maritzburg counterattack that remained the telling factor in the game.
Early in the second half a fine example of one of these saw Shandu played into space down the right, opening Celtic. Shandu squared to Deolin Mekoa, free in the middle, whose deflected shot was well kept out by Dambe. Dlamini's free-kick forced a save from Ofori for Celtic.
That chance showed the Free Staters were still in the game, though when they equalised it was with a touch of fortune. From a Dlamini corner, the ball fell to substitute Jacky Motshegwa in the area, who took a shot that was aimed well wide and took a big deflection past Ofori.
In the other last-eight match, Free State Stars also advanced to the semis after beating Ubuntu Cape Town 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 stalemate in 120 minutes.