Staff Reporter.
A goal from Jayden Adams a minute from the end of extra time gave Mamelodi Sundowns a 1-0 win over Sekhukhune United in the Nedbank Cup quarter-final.
Sundowns made six changes to the team that lost to Orlando Pirates before the Fifa international break and were forced to throw in their five regulars in the second half.
But Sekhukhune remained hard to crack before Adams struck in the 119th minute as the match appeared to be headed for penalty shootouts.
Coach Miguel Cardoso and his charges will now turn their attention to Tuesday’s CAF Champions League clash against Esperance de Tunis.
Babina Noko, on the other hand, bowed out of the cup competition and they will now focus solely on the Betway Premiership.
Coach Eric Tinkler’s side will be back in action on 6 April when they take on Cape Town City away from home.
Even though Masandawana dominated possession from the start, with Babina Noko ready to bounce back on the counter-attack, both teams struggled to create clear-cut chances in the opening exchanges of the encounter.
Ronwen Williams was called into action in the 37th minute and the Sundowns goalkeeper denied Keletso Makgalwa.
At the other end, Grant Kekana’s header was saved by keeper Renaldo Leaner on the stroke of halftime and the score was 0-0 at the interval.
Sundowns continued to control the match after the restart, but Babina Noko remained solid and compact at the back.
Cardoso decided to introduce the feared duo of Lucas Ribeiro Costa and Peter Shalulile in the 68th minute.
Leaner then became a busy man as the 27-year-old denied Ribeiro in the 78th minute, before saving Kekana’s header in the 87th minute.
Leaner saved another Ribeiro attempt in stoppage time and the match went into extra-time after a 0-0 draw in regulation time.
With extra-time destined to end in a 0-0 draw, up stepped in-form Bafana Bafana star Adams, who netted his third goal in as many matches for club and country in the 119th minute to hand Sundowns a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Sekhukhune.