By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@GalloImages.
Marumo Gallants beat Golden Arrows 4-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw at King Zwelithini Stadium to advance to the Carling Knockout Cup final.
Sekela Dlamini and Ndabayithethwa Ndlondlo were on target for Gallants, while Isaac Cisse and Nqobeko Dlamini netted for Arrows in a pulsating semi-final.
While both sides created goal-scoring opportunities going to the break, the game ended 0-0 at halftime.
The game sprang to life 10 minutes into the new half after Arrows took the lead through Cisse in the 54th minute, after he guided home a loose ball on the line following a corner situation.
Gallants then drew level just two minutes later through Ndlondlo, before taking the lead from a goal by Daniel Msendami moments before the hour mark.
Arrows levelled matters in the 70th minute after a swift passing move toward the Gallants box. With the away side playing on the back foot, goalkeeper Washington Arubi had no answer for Dlamini’s classy left-footed curler.
With the game going into penalties, Arubi pulled off two stunning saves to deny Brandon Theron and Thabo Matlaba while Ibrahim Bance netted the final spot kick to send his side through to the final.
Meanwhile World football’s governing body, FIFA, has confirmed a one-match ban on South African defender Mbekezeli Mbokazi and handed him a hefty fine after he was sent off against Zimbabwe in last month’s World Cup qualifiers.
His dismissal late in the 0-0 draw at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Bafana Bafana’s penultimate Group C qualifier was examined by the FIFA disciplinary committee, who confirmed a one-match ban and fined him 5 000 Swiss francs. That is equivalent to R104 000, a figure that the South African Football Association will presumably pay on the 20-year-old’s behalf.
Mbokazi’s punishment was confirmed in a review of all October’s disciplinary sanctions released online by FIFA.
He served his ban against Rwanda in the final qualifier in Nelspruit, where South Africa booked their place at next year’s World Cup finals, and is therefore eligible to play again for the country at the Africa Cup of Nations finals, which kick off in Morocco next month.
Elsewhere Amajimbos booked their spot in the FIFA U17 World Cup knockout stages despite going down 3-1 to Italy in Group A on Sunday evening.