Staff Reporter.
Kaizer Chiefs secured a 3-1 win over Stellenbosch FC in a thrilling Nedbank Cup quarterfinal match played at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday evening.
Chiefs piled pressure on the Stellies defence from the start and the hosts conceded a penalty after Ismaël Olivier Touré had handled the ball in the box. Inacio Miguel converted the penalty to hand Chiefs a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute – his third in as many Nedbank Cup games.
The Soweto giants nearly doubled their lead in the 44th minute when Ashley Du Preez dribbed past his marker and unleashed a shot, which was saved by goalkeeper Sage Stephens from close range. The score was 1-0 in favour of Chiefs at the interval in Gqeberha.
Stellies pushed forward in numbers after the restart and Bruce Bvuma became a busy man in the Amakhosi goal-posts. The 29-year-old shot-stopper was beaten in the 87th minute when Andre De Jong headed home Fawaaz Basadien’s corner-kick to make it 1-1.
However, Stellebbosch conceded two late goals in stoppage time as Pule Mmodi poked the ball home from close range, before Mfundo Vilakazi sealed Chiefs’ 3-1 win after running solo to fire into an empty net after Stephens had left his goal-posts for a Stellies corner-kick.
Meanwhile Orlando Pirates made sure to continue defending their title by booking a spot into the semifinals of the Nedbank Cup, after they defeated SuperSport United in a penalty shootout following a 2-2 draw at fulltime at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Elsewhere PSL has revealed the reason for the abrupt postponement of the Nedbank Cup clash between Mamelodi Sundowns and Sekhukhune United, which was set to take place on Saturday at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville.
, the Sundowns and Sekhukhune game was postponed after the PSL discovered that the Lucas Moripe Stadium had been double-booked. Despite the PSL securing exclusive rights to the venue via a pre-arranged agreement, the stadium had also accepted a booking for a FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup qualifier, scheduled to kick-off about six hours before the Nedbank Cup match.
In a statement released on Friday evening, PSL stated that they immediately challenged the stadium management, demanding confirmation that their original agreement would be honoured. However, no such confirmation was received.