Publications
Partners
Cape Town - Polokwane City beat Ajax Cape Town 4-3 on penalties after 120 minutes of their Telkom Knockout Last-16 tie at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday had ended 0-0.
The first half was evenly balanced as the home team enjoyed chances on goal near the start and at the end of the stanza, with Ajax having several opportunities of their own in between.
There was little to separate the sides from the second half onwards and in the end it was left to penalties to decide the fate of a hard-fought encounter.
The Limpopo side had a couple of half chances in the opening minutes of play, but there was not much work for Ajax keeper Jody February.
The Cape team burst to life around the half hour mark and had some decent opportunities. But the score-line remained unchanged as Urban Warriors striker Tashrique Morris failed to score in a one-on-one situation before Polokwane City keeper George Chigova denied Prince Nxumalo shortly after.
Rodney Ramagalela, Rise and Shine's on-form marksman, looked set to break the deadlock two minutes before half time, but February came to Ajax's rescue with an outstanding close-range block.
There was action after the restart at either end of the field as Chigova and February were called into duty.
The Cape side went on to enjoy some good periods of play during the second half, but failed to carve out clear openings against a determined Rise and Shine defence.
With both sides wary of conceding a late goal and losing the game, the closing moments of regulation time passed without much incident and the match went to extra time. Once more, neither side could find a way to unlock the opposition defence, with the lottery of a penalty shoot-out seemingly being accepted by both camps.
And it was the home side who held their nerve to win after February was beaten four times.
