1st December 2007


Vodacom Loftus Stadium, Tshwane

20h00


Telkom Knock Out Cup Final


Playing Conditions: Partly Cloud 30% chance of rain, temperature at kick off 22° C

Kaizer Chiefs prevented Sundowns from picking up their second piece of silver ware for the season on Saturday evening, when they defeated the reigning PSL Champions who a few months ago won the SAA Supa8 trophy.

After a fiercestly contested opening forty five minutes the game opened up in the second half and through extra time with either team being given the chance to wrap up the game.

Siphiwe Tshabalala went close to winning the game for Chiefs late on in the second half of extra time, but knocked his effort wide of the mark, after being put clean through on goal by Shaun Bartlett. For Chiefs coach Muhsin Ertugral it was his third consecutive victory over Sundowns in a cup match, as well as his fourth in a cup final over the Brazilians and it meant that he went one better this time around then he did last year when he was the coach of Ajax Cape Town who were the losing finalists in 2006.

Early intention

In a first half which lacked a lot of goal mouth action Chiefs did manage to come up with the best effort, David Obua just in front of the 18 yard area collected a clearing header from Cyril Nzama and raced up the centre of the field.

As he raced into Sundowns territory he looked to his left and found Mabhudi Khenyeza storming down the leaf, and played the ball to him.

Khenyeza who was way out wide cut in field on the left and from the edge of the Sundowns area with his right foot, unleashed a ferocious shot at the Sundowns goal, Brian Baloyi though managed to jump up off the ground and pushed the ball out for a corner. Mabhudi, who found a goal after 19 seconds a week earlier when Chiefs played Pirates, was denied from getting onto to the score sheet in the sixth minute by some good goalkeeping from Brian Baloyi.

No quarter

The game as it was when the two teams met in a league game a few weeks back, was a very tight game with the ball stuck in the midfield for most of the first forty minutes, Brian Baloyi opted to go long way over and in the 35th minute managed to send the ball from end to end. Surprise Moriri managed picked out the ball as it landed and with his back to goal flicked the ball towards Lerato Chabangu, who was able to squeeze between Cyril Nzama and Jimmy Tau and got a touch to the ball some good judgement from Itumeleng Khune allowed him to come and pluck the ball out of the air.

Khenyeza at the double

The second forty five minutes kept the capacity forty five thousand strong crowd riveted as both teams threw caution to the wind and both had chances to have wrapped up the game, Mabhudi Khenyeza had to efforts on goal a minute apart. The first in the 78th minute as he beat the challenge of Benson Mhlongo he raced across goal, and on the turn took a shot which Brian Baloyi blocked but spilled the ball. Baloyi managed to make amends spectacularly stopping the Chiefs striker return shot, as he dived at the feet of Khenyeza and grabbed made the ball his.

A minute on and Khenyeza did well to control a clearance from Itumeleng Khune, after controlling the ball he shot across goal although he beat Baloyi the ball rolled wide.

Sublime football

The best move of the game started when Mabhudi Khenyeza in the 81st minute, back heeled a throw in to Siphiwe Tshabalala on the left who in turn made a run half way across the field before laying pass towards Kaizer Motaung Junior.

He let the ball run

on to Shaun Bartlett who was behind him on the right, Bartlett teed himself up and sent in a cross which Kaizer Junior met with his head on its way goal wards Mabhudi Khenyeza came in the way and the ball hit him as it went agonizingly close to giving Chiefs the lead.

Dladla on the wing

Josta Dladla was proving to be Sundowns danger man at both dead ball situations, and getting in the right kind of balls to his striker he was doing the job required of him on the right, from a 50th minute corner Dladla managed to find Lerato Chabangu in a crowded penalty area.

Chabangu’s goal ward head could only be parried by Khune Cyril Nzama reacted quickly and got the ball cleared; it was Dladla who in injury time at the end of the game gave the Chiefs fans a scare of their lives. Manqoba Ngwenya won the ball just outside the Chiefs 18 yard area with a sliding two footed challenge the ball found Dladla on the right, once more he was able to provide a telling cross which Peter Ndlovu connected with and for a few seconds the Chiefs fans fell silent they found their voices again as the veteran Zimbabweans header went millimeters wide of Khunes right hand upright.

Chabangu close to five

With a R100 000 in the offing for the player in the tournament who could find five goals Lerato Chabangu was the only player on the field who could get a sniff of the prize money, he must have thought that his he had bagged the money. When inside two minutes of extra time Dladla once more on the right floated in a ball towards him, Chabangu with his back to the goal attempted a spectacular scissors kick though he mad contact with the ball it did not find its target and went wide of Khune who watched the ball go wide.

Oh so close

As the second half of extra time kicked off Chiefs again managed to conjure up a chance at goal, it was Mabhudi Khenyeza who did the initial work and set Kaizer Junior off with a pass from the half way line which was rolled towards him.

The Chiefs striker passed the ball around the Sundowns defense to Shaun Bartlett whose run into the Sundowns danger area had gone unnoticed, Bartlett hit the ball in the air on the volley Baloyi got in the way and blocked the shot. Bartlett lost his footing and slipped as the lose ball fell to him and Sundowns were let off the hook.

Tshabalala miss

Muhsin Ertugral was left thinking if his team were ever going to find the back of the net after Siphiwe Tshabalala drove the ball wide from close range in the 109th minute, Thabo Mooki used his years of experience pressurizing Esrom Nyandoro when Brian Baloyi had rolled the ball out to him.

Mooki disposed Nyandoro and played the ball to Siphiwe Tshabalala who did not hold on to it for long and passed it wide to Shaun Bartlett, who notice Tshbalala’s run into the box and played a return pass to him. From just a few yards out and with the goal at his mercy Tshabalala proceeded to knock the ball across the face of goal and wide of the mark.

Shoot out tension

With both teams unable to find the net in extra time it was to the shoot out we went for a winner, just prior to the kicks been taken Gordon Ingesund made a substitution and brought on Patrick Apataki for Benson Mhlongo, his gamble proved to be just that as Apataki’s kick was saved by Itumeleng Khune.

Khune put Chiefs in the driving from the start saving Esrom Nyandoro’s kick diving low to his right, he then twice saved Peter Ndlovu’s penalty while Onismor Bhasera had put Chiefs ahead, only for Mabhudi Khenyeza to strike the upright with his kick. Lerato Chabangu scored Sundowns third kick Cyril Nzama put Chiefs 2-1 beating his former team mate Brian Baloyi, Shake Ngwenya scored Sundowns fourth and Kaizer Junior did not miss Chiefs fourth. Khune made his third save saving Apataki who had been brought on especially for the shoot out penalty.

Number 10

Saturday evening’s Cup Final victory for The Amakhosi was their tenth in a domestic cup competition since 1996, it was also the fifth time that they had managed to defeat Mamelodi Sundowns in a Cup Final since the inception of the PSL in 1996.

In winning the Telkom Knock Out Cup via the shoot out it was also Chiefs fourth success over Sundowns on penalties kicks in a Cup final since 1996. For Chiefs it was a case of finishing off the job where they started it, as The Amakhosi opened up their Telkom Knock Out Cup campaign with a win over Moroka Swallows at the Vodacom Loftus Stadium in Tshwane it was only fitting that they lifted the trophy at the same ground.

Match Facts:

Mamelodi Sundowns (4-4-2): 91. Brian Baloyi, 30. Vuyo Mere, 19. Benson Mhlongo,

5. Mbulelo Mabizela, 4. Oscar Ntwagae, 3. Esrom Nyandoro, 6. Jorge Acuna, 8. Lerato Chabangu. 9. Josta Dladla, 14. Surprise Moriri, 21. Brent Carelse

Substitutions:

In: 23. Peter Ndlovu
Out: 21. Brent Carelse 55 min


In: 11. Manqoba Ngwenya
Out: 14. Surprise Moriri 83 min


In: 89. Patrick Apataki Kifu
Out: 19. Benson Mhlongo 120 min

Cautions: Yellow Cards, 19. Benson Mhlongo (knocking down Kaizer Junior) 46 min, 11. Manqoba Ngwenya (unsporting behaviour) 90 min, 30. Vuyo Mere (brining down Siphiwe Tshabalala) 101 min, 91. Brian Baloyi (time wasting) 11 min

Substitutes not used: 1. Calvin Marlin, 25. Michael Manzini, 10. Godfrey Sapula,

24. Shere Lekgothoane




Coach: Gordon Ingesund


Assistant Coach: Trott Moloto


Goalkeeper Coach: Alex Hereida

Kaizer Chiefs (3-1-4-1-1): 32. Itumeleng Khune, 2. Jimmy Tau, 3. Onismor Bhasera,

4. Cyril Nzama, 8. Tinashe Nengomasha, 28. Derrick Spencer, 13. David Obua,

14. Siphiwe Tshabalala, 18. Arthur Zwane, 24. David Mathebula, 5. Mabhudi Khenyeza

Substitutions:

In: 7. Kaizer Motaung Junior
Out: 24. David Mathebula 46 min


In: 17. Shaun Bartlett
Out: 18. Arthur Zwane 46 min


In: 12. Thabo Mooki
Out: 13. David Obua 64 min

Cautions: Yellow Cards, 3. Onismor Bhasera (two footed lunge on Vuyo Mere) 58 min, 5. Mabhudi Khenyeza (dissent) 74 min, 8. Tinashe Nengomasha (dissent) 86 min,

17. Shaun Bartlett (late tackle on Brian Baloyi) 113 min

Substitutes not used: 30. Emille Baron, 33. Ditheko Mototo, 29. Mokete Tsotetsi,

27. Gerald Sibeko

Coach: Muhsin Ertugral


Assistant Coach: Fani Madida


Goalkeeper Coach: Rainer Dinkelacker

Match Officials:


Referee: Abdul Ebrahim


Assistant 1: Steven Moshotle


Assistant 2: Leon Mngqibisa


4th Official: Lwandile Mfiki


Match Commissioner: Mr. Robert Pillay