‘Phenomenal’ Cape Town City book place in knockout final
ERIC Tinkler hailed his Cape Town City players for a phenomenal performance as they booked a cup final berth for the first time just five months after the formation of the club.
Saturday’s 4-1 victory at the Athlone Stadium over Free State Stars in the Telkom Knockout semifinal could have been even bigger had it not been for wasted chances and the heroics of the visiting keeper Thela Ngobeni.
But Tinkler remained delighted with the result and the way City marched to the top of the domestic game after seven successive wins.
“It’s been a fantastic campaign. When we started we said that the league would be our priority.
“But in the cup I told the players they had a chance to create a legacy and became part of the history of this new club. And they have done that.”
City went into the game with concern over the centre backs, with regular Tshepo Gumede and Robyn Johannes both suspended.
They shifted Thamsanqa Mkhize from right back to the middle and‚ alongside him‚ gave a debut to Joseph Adjei from Ghana.
“I thought both centre backs did a fantastic job. We have a squad with enough depth, I think we’ve proved that now,” Tinkler said
“Obviously we don’t want to lose key players but we have enough cover.
“Plus we have a very good team spirit where the players all want to play for each other.”
City will play SuperSport United on December 10 after Thabo Mnyamane’s first-half goal helped Matsatsantsa defeat 10-man Orlando Pirates 1-0 in the other semifinal clash at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Saturday.
Both teams were looking to stamp their authority in the opening stages of the game. The deadlock was finally broken in the 21st minute by Mnyamane, who scored from close range to make it 1-0 to SuperSport following defensive error by the Pirates backline.
Bucs then pushed forward in numbers in search of an immediate response with Luvuyo Memela forcing SuperSport keeper Reyaad Pieterse into a good save in the 35th minute.
Issa Sarr and Thabo Rakhale then unleashed shots from range which missed the target as the SuperSport defence frustrated Pirates until the first half ended, with the home side leading 1-0.
Pirates were dealt a major blow with 10 minutes left on the clock when Thabo Matlaba was given a straight red card following a dangerous tackle on SuperSport striker Jeremy Brockie.
Pieterse was the hero for SuperSport in the dying minutes of the game, parrying away Qalinge’s thunderous shot to ensure SuperSport walked away 1-0 winners.