Supersport United have advanced to the quarterfinals of the Coca-Cola Cup with a 2-1 win over Free State Stars at the Super Stadium in Atteridgeville on Wednesday night.
The hosts deserved more goals than the score line reflected, but fluffed many golden opportunities throughout the match.
Fortunately for Supersport, midfielder Jabu Pule is regaining form and this came to the fore as he scored the hosts’ first goal in the 14th minute and then turned provider for Katlego Mphela’s match-clincher in the 56th minute.
Pule was the sole spark on a wet and somewhat chilly evening in Pretoria and was well rewarded with the man-of-the-match award for running the Stars defence into a frenzy.
The visitors had started the game with purpose and fire and early in the first half looked like a formidable side, which they are not.
But their long-distance attempts at threatening Calvin Marlins’s net proved futile and they soon ran out of ideas.
Stars’ consolation goal came in the 64th minute from striker Jimmy Zakazaka, but it was too little, too late as United opted to wear their opponents down by playing long balls to dribbling wizard Pule.
The visitors will be kicking themselves for throwing in the towel too early as the United defence looked somewhat shaky without Phil Evans in the mix.
And it was on a routine attack that Stars did catch the United defence napping, but the Free State team failed to capitalise on their hosts’ frailties. — Sapa