MagRush | September 19, 2019
Gusty SuperSport United will face Highlands Park in the MTN Top 8 Cup final after edging out star-studded Mamelodi Sundowns 2-0 to take the tally to 3-1 in aggregate at Lucas Moripe stadium Wednesday night.
A solid man-of-the-match performance by Bongani Khumalo, the Clyton Daniels stoic defense and two assists from Thamsanqa Gabuza propelled SuperSport to within reach of being crowned the MTN8 champions for the 3rd time in history.
Teboho Mokeona’s early strike (12′) gave “Matsatsantsa a Pitori” (SuperSport United) advantage. Sundowns did not have answers for all their ball possession. If anything, they seemed unsettled with Gastón Sirino skating through thin ice after a bust-up with the provocative Dean Furman, United captain, escaping with a mere yellow card.
In the 37th minute, there was a penalty shout from Sundowns after Onismor Bashera fouled Thapelo Morena in the box. The match officials were not convinced and did not yield.
Attacking from the right, United’s Aubrey Modiba squared a diagonal pass that eliminated Sundowns goalkeeper, Denis Onyango, and two defenders, connecting with the unmarked Sipho Mbule who skied the ball over the crossbar with the unattended goal posts wide open.
The Brazilians (Sundowns) had their turn to launch offensive moves. Tebogo Langerman’s close-range shot (55′) ricocheted off Khumalo’s gigantic body-frame resulting into a futile corner-kick.
But it was SuperSport team that was fired up. Onyango pulled a blinder from Bradley Grobler’s 65th minute snapshot.
The 21-year-old Jamie Webber lit up the Tshwane derby night with an insurance goal [86] to firmly place SuperSport’s (one) hand on the MTN8 cup with a commanding 2-0 lead.
Beaming with joy after reaching the final, Kaitano Thembo, SuperSport coach, said they had to be patient and hit on a counter against a tough opponent like Sundowns. “We needed to do a good job to be in the final,” he said, praising Khumalo for dealing with aerial balls successfully.
Although some players did not turn up, Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane, conceded that MTN8 cup keeps eluding them. However, they “move on”. He offered adulations to Tembo and his hard-to-beat tactics. “The (second) ball fell for them. Kaitano’s tactics were good… early goal helped them,” he added. Ultimately, the second goal came from a counter-attack, said the resigned Mosimane; “we did not create many chances in the second half”.
The final of the MTN Top 8 Cup between Highlands Park and SuperSport United will be held at Orlando Stadium Saturday, October 5, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. in Soweto