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Johannesburg - Premier Soccer League outfit BidVest Wits huffed and puffed to an unconvincing 4-3 penalty shootout win over First Division side FC Cape Town to reach the semi-finals of the Nedbank Cup in a scrappy quarterfinal clash played at Milpark on Saturday.
The sides were deadlocked 0-0 after extra time and if ever a match was destined to end goalless this was the one.
Both sides were reduced to 10 men in this apology for a soccer match.
First referee Matthew Dyer sent off Wits midfield kingpin Thando Mngomeni in the 82nd minute and then FC Cape Town’s Morne Davids in the 115th minute. Both players saw red after a second bookable offence.
The silver lining for Wits is that they will be guaranteed a minimum of R1 million for getting to the last four of the country’s premier knockout competition. The winner of the cup will be richer by R6 million. But this was a poor advert for cup soccer. It was one big, boring yawn.
FC Cape Town who, after beating mighty Kaizer Chiefs in the last round, came close to claiming another PSL scalp. They opted to frustrate and hit Wits on the counter attack.
Wits might count themselves unlucky when they had two good penalty appeals for handball turned down but the way they played they would probably have missed both had they been given.
Wits lacked urgency and failed to stamp their authority on their lower league opponents in a stop-start first half that produced little goalmouth action.
The Students seemed to be stuck in first gear opting to use the long ball to little effect.
Mngomeni, the pick of the midfielders until he went for an early shower, forced FC Cape Town keeper Moses Thembalethu to defect his fourth minute shot for a corner.
Wits got a surprise when Wilson Shendzelani's free kick was somehow deflected centimetres past the home team’s post.
Thembalethu made a comfortable save from another shot form Mngomeni on 18 minutes. Then 10 minutes later the FC Cape Town keeper manage to get a foot to Mark Haskins' goal bound shot to steer the ball for corner.
At the other end, Wits' experienced DR Congo born keeper Francis Chansa did well to save a powerful shot from Lyle Lakay in the 35th minute.
Mngomeni produced another decent effort in the 44th minute but his fiercely stuck 20 metre rocket flew just over the crossbar.
Wits head coach Roger de Sa’s halftime team talk seemed to work when in the 49th minute Sifiso Myeni raced down the right flank and delivered a pin point cross to Mngomeni who then wasted the chance by heading the ball over the crossbar when he should have buried the ball inside the FC Cape Town net.
Then disaster struck when Mngomeni was show the red card by referee Dyer for a second bookable offence in the 82nd minute forcing Wits to play the remaining eight minutes of the regulation 90 and the 30 minutes of extra time a man short.
Wits had Calvin Kadi sent off late in their 4-1 win over another First Division side Thanda Royal Zulu at the same venue in the previous round last weekend.
FC Cape Town substitute Marcelino Fransch hit a first time volley over the crossbar with his first shot of the game in the 89th minute.
But with neither side showing any sign of breaking the deadlock the match went to extra time and then to the penalty shootout lottery. The match ended with both sides reduced to 10 men after Davids walked for an early shower in the second half of extra time.
