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Bethlehem - Heroic Free State Stars goalkeeper Thela Ngobeni insisted that it was their day to shine and nothing could stop 'Ea Lla Koto', following a penalty shootout victory against Kaizer Chiefs at the weekend.
The Stars triumphed 6-5 on penalties after a 2-all stalemate to eliminate Amakhosi from the Telkom Knockout Cup quarter-finals at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday.
Bokang Thlone and Thokozani Sekotlong were on target for Stars while Eric Mathoho alongside Edmore Chirambadare found the net for the Naturena outfit.
Ngobeni, 27, said Stars played together as a unit without giving up and were rewarded at the end of the day for their hard work.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity I got, it meant a lot to me,” said Ngobeni.
“And I want to salute our team for working as a unit; it was not an easy game for us because Chiefs are a very strong team.
“I think we really tried our best on the day and it was our day to win and nothing could have stopped us.
“It will be important for me again to go back and watch a video of my performance just to see where I still need to improve.
Ngobeni stopped Lorenzo Gordinho and William Twala's penalties and confessed to studying the Chiefs spot kicking in their previous game against Maritzburg United.
The 'keeper admits that his tactics to unsettle Twala and Gordinho before stepping up, worked in his favour.
“Luckily, we managed to look at their (Chiefs) penalties since they went to penalties against Maritzburg (in the last 16) as well,” he said.
“Especially the last one, I played mind-games with William Thwala and told him where he was going and it worked for me.
“I was just enjoying myself to be honest and once the job was done I was happy,” he concluded.
Stars will battle against Cape Town City in the first semi-final at the end of Novmber, while SuperSport United will face Orlando Pirates in the second.
Venues and dates have yet to be confirmed.
