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Cape Town - Stand-in Mamelodi Sundowns captain Thabo Nthethe felt he was a lucky man to have still been on the pitch after conceding two penalties in the Telkom Knockout final on Wednesday.
The Brazilians thumped Kaizer Chiefs 3-1 in the League Cup spectacle that was played at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on the Day of Reconciliation.
Centre-back Nthethe was one of the scorers for his team, heading in for Sundowns either side of Leonardo Castro and Hlompho Kekana's goals.
However, the defender was also the culprit in conceding two penalty kicks, the first for what looked like a shove on Bernard Parker and the second for hand ball.
Fortunately for the Bafana Bafana defender, though, Siphiwe Tshabalala and Camaldine Abraw both had their efforts saved by man-of-the-match and Brazilians goalkeeper Denis Onyango.
"I'm surprised actually," Nthethe said.
"I conceded two penalties and I wasn't booked in both cases. For me, the first one wasn't a penalty, the second one, okay, the ball did hit my hand.
"But at the end of the day, the man in the middle, he is the one controlling the game.
"Fortunately our goalkeeper was on top form and he kept us on track."
Referee Kulasande Qongqo was also in the spotlight for failing to show Castro a second yellow card after he deliberately kicked the ball away in the first half, drawing the anger of Chiefs coach Steve Komphela.
