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Cape Town - Tshepo Motsoeneng pulled off a crucial save to see Santos through to the semifinals of the Telkom Cup as they defeated Platinum Stars 5-3 on penalties at the Athlone Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Jonathan Armogam opened the scoring for the home side before Nathan Paulse netted a late equalizer, and with neither side finding the goals in extra time the match had to be decided on penalties.
Platinum Stars held most of the possession in the opening minutes of the game and also created the first decent chance in the 8th minute when Enocent Mkhabela released Joseph Molangoane on the right; the midfielder unleashed a powerful shot which stung Tshepo Motsoeneng as he parried it away to safety.
Santos got the opener in the 32nd minute with a quick break which caught Stars exposed at the back; Jonathan Fransman made a brilliant run on the left before delivering an accurate cross for Jonathan Armogam to head home.
Vuyisile Wana had two chances to extend the lead a minute later when he collected the ball inside the penalty area and beat Stars goalkeeper Mpontshane, but saw his first attempt blocked on the line by captain Mbuyiselo Sambu before Mpontshane recovered quickly to deny his second attempt.
The People’s Team continued to look dangerous in the second half and crafted another counter-attack in the 51st minute when Wana beat a couple of defenders for pace and found Erwin Isaacs in the box; the striker set the ball up for Armogam but he failed to get his second goal of the afternoon as his shot missed the target.
Despite not being called into action for most of the second half, Motsoeneng proved that he was still alert in the 75th minute when he saved a good header from substitute Nathan Paulse to keep the home side ahead going into the final minutes of the game.
Santos switched to defensive mode in the final ten minutes of the game, inviting Platinum Stars to push forward and looking to catch them on the counter but that move proved to be their undoing when Paulse beat Motsoeneng with a low shot in the 89th minute to send the tie into extra time.
Both sides created chances during extra time, with Pere Ariweriyai and Tyren Arendese coming close for Santos, while Robert Ng’ambi and Thuso Phala were also denied at the other end.
Stars captain Mbuyiselo Sambu saw his penalty saved by Tshepo Motsoeneng while the Santos kickers made no mistake from the spot to book themselves a place in the semifinals.
Santos (1) 1 (Armogam 32’ )
Platinum Stars (0) 1 (Paulse 89’)
Penalties:
Santos 5 (T. Arendse, Rodgers, Macala, Fransman, Ariweriyai)
Platinum Stars 3 (Paulse, Shivambu, Mere)
Santos: Motsoeneng, Macala, Jampies, Ariweriyai, Wana (Rodgers 69’), W. Arendse, Armogam (T. Arendse 55’), Fransman, Kefile, Chimodzi, Isaacs (Mafoko 76’)
Platinum Stars: Mpontshane, Sambu, Semenya, Mere, Ngwepe, Mkhabela, Molangoane (Shivambu 79’), Ngambi, Msomi (Mbatha 64’), Phala, Botes (Paulse 68’)
Jonathan Armogam opened the scoring for the home side before Nathan Paulse netted a late equalizer, and with neither side finding the goals in extra time the match had to be decided on penalties.
Platinum Stars held most of the possession in the opening minutes of the game and also created the first decent chance in the 8th minute when Enocent Mkhabela released Joseph Molangoane on the right; the midfielder unleashed a powerful shot which stung Tshepo Motsoeneng as he parried it away to safety.
Santos got the opener in the 32nd minute with a quick break which caught Stars exposed at the back; Jonathan Fransman made a brilliant run on the left before delivering an accurate cross for Jonathan Armogam to head home.
Vuyisile Wana had two chances to extend the lead a minute later when he collected the ball inside the penalty area and beat Stars goalkeeper Mpontshane, but saw his first attempt blocked on the line by captain Mbuyiselo Sambu before Mpontshane recovered quickly to deny his second attempt.
The People’s Team continued to look dangerous in the second half and crafted another counter-attack in the 51st minute when Wana beat a couple of defenders for pace and found Erwin Isaacs in the box; the striker set the ball up for Armogam but he failed to get his second goal of the afternoon as his shot missed the target.
Despite not being called into action for most of the second half, Motsoeneng proved that he was still alert in the 75th minute when he saved a good header from substitute Nathan Paulse to keep the home side ahead going into the final minutes of the game.
Santos switched to defensive mode in the final ten minutes of the game, inviting Platinum Stars to push forward and looking to catch them on the counter but that move proved to be their undoing when Paulse beat Motsoeneng with a low shot in the 89th minute to send the tie into extra time.
Both sides created chances during extra time, with Pere Ariweriyai and Tyren Arendese coming close for Santos, while Robert Ng’ambi and Thuso Phala were also denied at the other end.
Stars captain Mbuyiselo Sambu saw his penalty saved by Tshepo Motsoeneng while the Santos kickers made no mistake from the spot to book themselves a place in the semifinals.
Santos (1) 1 (Armogam 32’ )
Platinum Stars (0) 1 (Paulse 89’)
Penalties:
Santos 5 (T. Arendse, Rodgers, Macala, Fransman, Ariweriyai)
Platinum Stars 3 (Paulse, Shivambu, Mere)
Santos: Motsoeneng, Macala, Jampies, Ariweriyai, Wana (Rodgers 69’), W. Arendse, Armogam (T. Arendse 55’), Fransman, Kefile, Chimodzi, Isaacs (Mafoko 76’)
Platinum Stars: Mpontshane, Sambu, Semenya, Mere, Ngwepe, Mkhabela, Molangoane (Shivambu 79’), Ngambi, Msomi (Mbatha 64’), Phala, Botes (Paulse 68’)
