Ashley Du Preez came off the bench to score a dramatic last minute winner, as Kaizer Chiefs came from behind to defeat Mamelodi Sundowns 2-1 in a gripping Nedbank Cup semifinal at Loftus Versfeld stadium in Pretoria on Sunday.
They are now set up for a mouthwatering Soweto Derby final against Orlando Pirates at Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban on 10 May, just one step away from finally getting their hands on silverware.
Amakhosi were unfortunate to go into the halftime break a goal down, after Teboho Mokoena scored from a free kick in stoppage time of a very evenly matched first 45 minutes. However, their persistence paid off in the second half, first through Wandile Duba’s composed finish in the 57th minute and right at the death, from an equally well-taken goal from Du Preez.
Amakhosi withstood some early pressure as the home team came out strongly in the opening exchanges, yet the makeshift defence of Solomons, Msimango, Dove and Cross held firm and allowed Chiefs to grow into the game, and by the mid-stage it was fairly even.
Bruce Bvuma was equal to an Iqraam Rayners shot in the 21st minute, parrying Sundowns’ only real opportunity until then away for a corner. With so much at stake, neither team was giving an inch and tempers flared a few minutes later when Lucas Ribeiro and Gaston Sirino clashed, resulting in players from both sides squaring up in defence of their respective teammate.
Yusuf Maart and Thabo Cele went toe to toe with their counterparts, Marcello Allende and Teboho Mokena in a midfield battle for supremacy and managed to provide some supply to willing runners, Duba and Pule Mmodi.
Sirino then produced a moment of sheer audacity in the 34th minute, flicking the ball up and hitting it on the volley from all of 40 yards out, which had Ronwen Williams scrambling to keep the ball out at the expense of a corner. Sirno took it and found Glody Lilepo at the near post, who glanced a header a whisker wide of the far post, with Williams beaten.
Just as it seemed as though Amakhosi would deservedly go into the break on level terms, Sundowns took the lead on the stroke of halftime through a swerving direct free kick from Mokoena that deceived Bvuma, to give the Brazilians a 1-0 advantage.
Amakhosi sought an equaliser from the moment the second half kicked off and rushed Sundowns into a series of mistakes that ultimately brought reward in the 57th minute courtesy of an excellent piece of anticipation from Duba, who nipped in smartly to intercept a weak pass out of defence by Lucas Suarez and raced through to slot the ball confidently past Williams and make it 1-all.
The goal seemed to sap some of the confidence out of Sundowns and Chiefs, led from the front by skipper Maart, held the upper hand for the bulk of the second half, with Bvuma having very little to do.