Siwelele now await today’s winner for the MTN8 final

Bloemfontein Celtic through to a second successive cup final

Victor Letsoalo’s 50th-minute goal took Bloemfontein Celtic to a second successive cup final as they dumped SuperSport United out of the MTN8 at Petrus Molemela Stadium in Free State yesterday.

Celtic were runners-up to Mamelodi Sundowns in the Nedbank Cup in the last game of the 2019-20 season and now the cashstrapped Free State club is on the verge of winning R8m.

The goal was a result of quick thinking by Given Mashikinya in midfield.

He caught out United’s central defenders, feeding Letsoalo with a quick set piece that the striker hit past Bafana Bafana’s number one Ronwen Williams.

The first leg of this encounter ended 1-1 in Pretoria last Sunday.

Though this match produced just one goal, there was no lack of trying from both sides as United won more than five corners and had more than 15 scoring opportunities, with three on target as they tried to make up for last weekend’s costly draw. Celtic had eight shots on Williams’s goal but only two, including Letsoalo’s, were on target.

Kaitano Tembo’s team were overwhelming favourites having dominated this competition in the past four seasons.

Tembo’s team were gunning for a fourth successive top-eight final, of which they’ve won two, including last season’s triumph over Highlands Park, the first silverware for the Zimbabwean-born coach appointed at the beginning of the 2018-19 season.

United, the only team to qualify for every top-eight competition in the PSL era, first won this trophy in 2004 when a Pitso Mosimane-coached side beat Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 through Phil Evans’s spot kick.

John Maduka, on the other hand, has great memories of lifting this cup as Celtic’s skipper in a 2005 final in which Siwelele won 1-0 courtesy of Rotson Killambe’s strike against the same United.

It’s no wonder that the former Malawi international invested so much in this competition, only retaining three players from the midweek 1-0 league loss against Orlando Pirates, as he placed priority in getting Siwelele to the final of the 44th edition of this competition.

Celtic will now wait for the winner of the second semifinal between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates at FNB Stadium today.

Amakhosi, who have won the competition a record 15 times, have to erase Bucs’ 3-0 win from last Saturday’s game.

Having prioritised this competition, there’s no doubt that Maduka will continue pouring every resource at his disposal in ensuring Siwelele win this trophy for the second time in 15 years.