ANDREW MUCHINERIPI, Pretoria | Monday 10.00am
IT is questionable who exhaled the deeper sigh of relief when the final whistle blew and Sundowns qualified to meet Kaizer Chiefs on June 10 in a dream Bob Save Super Bowl final.
Was it Sundowns coach Paul Dolezar, who endured many anxious moments before his star-studded team defeated relegation-threatened AmaZulu 1-0 in a much closer semi-final than expected.
Or was it the sponsors who knew a Chiefs-AmaZulu final would not
capture the imagination of an incresingly fickle football public like a clash between the Amakhosi and the Brazilians.
When the sun set over Loftus Stadium everybody was happy to some extent
– even AmaZulu coach Eddie Lewis, whose side stood up to champions-elect Sundowns much better than expected.
Jabulani Ndwandwe wasted a couple of good chances to give the Durban
club a shock lead on a cool, sunny afternoon in Pretoria before the tide turned on a moment of individual brilliance with 82 minutes gone.
French-born Amougou picked up the ball just inside the AmaZulu half and strode majestically forward as his opponents retreated before unleashing a low shot that flew into the corner of the net.
One sensed there would be no way back if AmaZulu fell behind and so it proved. For all the guile of veteran coach Eddie Lewis and the temporary signings of Pollen Ndlanya and Jerry Sikhosana, the Usuthu are a limited lot.
Lewis has instilled shape, spirit and steel with some shrewd
late-season purchases, but Pelewe Delamogo ranks among the most suspect goalkeepers in the Premier Soccer League and his defenders are not exactly superstars either.