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Pretoria - AmaZulu goalkeeper Mbongeni Mzimela was the hero of Usuthu's 4-1 win in a penalty shootout victory over league champions SuperSport United in a dramatic Telkom Knockout quarter-final after the teams were level at 2-2 after extra time at the Super Stadium in Atteridgeville on Saturday.
Mzimela saved penalties in the shootout from United goal scorers Brent Carelse and Dario Monteiro to give his side a place in the semifinals and earn himself the Man-of-the-Match award.
United showed character, fighting back twice from the brink of defeat after two defensive blunders first gave Usuthu the lead, and then took the match to penalties.
First United skipper Thabo September failed to clear a harmless cross which allowed Dumisani Ngwenya to open the scoring a minute from the break.
Then after Carelse equalised with a last gasp free kick two minutes into stoppage time, to take the match into extra time, United’s Ugandan goalkeeper Dennis Onyango allowed substitute Marc van Heerden’s 96th minute free kick to slip through his fingers. But a goal four minutes from the end of extra time by Monteiro took the match to a penalty shootout.
Highlights and goal mouth action were few and far between in the opening half.
Ngwenya, who scored in the 44th minute, had tried a speculative lob over Onyango in the opening minute that sailed over the crossbar. But those two shots at goal were all that Usuthu produced in the first half.
United were well served by speedy winger Tebogo Langerman who showed skill and pace on the left and right wings. Langerman tied the AmaZulu defenders in knots, but United struggled to finish.
Carelse shot wide of the Usuthu goal in the eighth minute. And Langerman showed great skills by weaving past a cluster of defenders, laid off a tremendous pass aimed for Petrus Mahlatsi, only for the ball to be booted away by Pere Ariweriyai for a corner in the 22nd minute as United looked to be getting on top.
Then with halftime a minute away, September carelessly failed to clear a harmless looking cross and paid the penalty when Ngwenya nipped in and scored a well taken goal.
United coach Gavin Hunt must have given his players a roasting at halftime as they came out full of fire after the break, showing a lot more commitment and urgency in the opening 10 minutes of the new half than they showed throughout the first 45 minutes.
Mzimela made his first save of the afternoon when he denied Mahlatsi a goal in the 51st minute. The former Bloemfontein Celtic striker, who has been plagued with injuries since joining the PSL champions, collected a pass from Anthony Laffor and forced Mzimela to make a timely save.
The home side continued to pile on the pressure and Mzimela did well to prevent substitute Dennis Umony from scoring the equaliser in the 74th minute.
United came close to levelling the tie in the 82nd minute when another Monteiro shot was blocked on the goalline by the wide awake Mzimela.
A minute later, with SuperSport going for broke, Umony headed over the crossbar.
But the pressure paid off two minutes into injury time when Carelse beat Mzimela with a stunning 25 metre free kick to take the game into extra time.
Mzimela did well to pouch away a powerful shot from substitute Monteiro as the home side looked to capitalise on the shell shocked AmaZulu.
Then, four minutes later, came one of the worst goalkeeping howlers of this or any season when Onyango made a real mess of Van Heerden’s free kick which was aimed straight at the Ugandan keeper.
Onyango allowed the ball to slip through his hands to make it 2-1, but United showed the fighting spirit that has seen them win three league titles in succession when a Monteiro header in the 116th minute took the match into the dreaded penalty shootout.
