Johannesburg-Wits University substitute Gareth Devine delivered a knockout punch when his 71st minute goal was enough to give the students a 1-0 win over cup holders Jomo Cosmos in a disappointing Coca-Cola Cup quarterfinal clash played at Milpark’s Bidvest stadium on Wednesday night.
There was no score at halftime.
Overall the match failed to live up to expectations. Neither side showed any urgency throughout a disappointing 90 minutes.
There was not a lot to enthuse over in the first half during which the students held a slight edge. Wits central defender Thierry Mouyouma had a goal disallowed in the 21st minute by referee Ace Ncobo.
Cosmos’ best effort came four minutes later when Ezenkozi striker Tico Tico Bucuane forced the home ‘keeper Wayne Roberts to pull off a stunning save from his well-hit rocket.
Wits midfielder Gert Schalkwyk wasted a chance to put the students into the lead in the 26th minute when he broke from his own half, did all the hard work but finished with a poor shot that went past the woodwork.
The second period continued in the same vein as the first. There was little goal mouth action. The only goal was an opportunistic shot from Devine who managed to get a foot to a hopeful ball from Schalkwyk. To the delight of the 5 000-strong crowd Devine stabbed home the ball into the far corner to give the home side a 1-0 lead.
Cosmos failed to rise to the occasion and never looked like coming back into the game, let alone snatching an equaliser. — Sapa