The starry-eyed bubble of local invincibility surrounding Kaizer Chiefs after victory over a second-string Manchester United line-up in the recent Vodacom Challenge was summarily burst by Mamelodi Sundowns in the second Telkom Charity Cup semifinal at FNB Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Earlier, Moses Spandeel led Bloemfontein Celtic to a 2-0 victory over Orlando Pirates.
An 80 000-strong crowd, dominated proportionally by Amakhosi followers at the three-game spectacular, was stunned into a state of moody disbelief as Sundowns scored twice in the opening 18 minutes to pave the way for what was ultimately a closely contested 2-1 win.
A headed goal by Surprise Moriri followed by a masterly individual sortie and shot from Lerato Chabangu had Chiefs reeling, with a poised Sundowns appearing the more accomplished team in the opening period in spite of having the lesser share of possession.
The Brazilians, however, tended to rest on their laurels after the resumption and three changes in the Chiefs’ line-up gave them an extra degree of resolution and new life.
And it was one of the substitutes, David Mathebula, who reduced the deficit in the 65th minute with a stunning volleyed goal from an Arthur Zwane cross — another of the Chiefs players who came on in the second half to make a noticeable difference.
Indeed, had Gert Schalkwyk not missed what was probably the easiest scoring opportunity of the match in the 51st minute when confronted with only goalkeeper Calvin Marlin to beat, the game might have undergone a stunning transformation.
Instead, Sundowns stiffened their resolve, brought on effective fresh blood of their own off the substitute’s bench and implemented a defensive ”iron curtain” on the proceedings that the probing Chiefs rarely looked like penetrating.
Top Bafana scorer Shaun Bartlett, who had enjoyed a relatively inconspicuous game up to this point, threatened the ever-alert Marlin in Sundowns’ goal with a snaking ground shot in the 85th minute — then blotted his copybook with a crude tackle that earned a yellow card a minute later.
A player who never blotted his copybook as Sundowns qualified to face Celtic in a repeat of last year’s final was the diligent Dillon Sheppard, who sparkled for the entire 90 minutes and outshone most of the players on the field.
Nightmare for Pirates
Earlier, Moses Spandeel led Bloemfontein Celtic to ”the promised land” of the Telkom Charity Cup final as Orlando Pirates’ nightmarish start to the season continued in the opening game of the charity spectacular.
The path-finding, wily Spandeel split the Buccaneers’ defence in strikingly similar fashion in the 75th and 85th minutes to score the goals that gave Celtic a stunning 2-0 victory.
And it was only just reward for a player who had displayed more enterprise and initiative than anyone on the field during the match.
Then, to add insult to injury, Pirates’ Nigerian-born captain, Onyekachi Okonko, was sent off the field in injury time following a reckless tackle and an equally intimidating reaction to referee Daniel Bennett’s decision.
A large segment of the crowd was already seated for the first of the three games and supporters of Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs joined those of Celtic in celebrating the Buccaneers’ dismal demise.
After flopping in the pre-season Vodacom Challenge and starting indifferently in CAF’s Champions League, Pirates again struggled to find any cohesion and momentum in what was generally a stereotyped opening hour to the match.
Despite this, it was the Buccaneers who first came to life, with only a dramatic, reflex save from Postnet Omony in Celtic’s goal preventing Pirates from opening the score in the 60th minute.
Then, five minutes later, a screaming 25m shot from Okonko thundered against the crossbar.
Celtic, however, did not panic and their tactics of solid, massed defending and snappy counter-attacking finally paid dividends as Spandeel raced through Pirates’ off-side trap on two occasions for the goals that caused tears to flow for the Buccaneers. — Sapa