Silver Stars went into the quarterfinals of the Absa Cup when they narrowly beat Ajax Cape Town by a 1-0 score in the fifth minute.
Playing with a strong Cape south-easter, Stars were awarded a free kick in the fifth minute and Solomon Mathe used the wind to curl the ball into the net, much to the surprise of the Ajax defenders.
Ajax came back strongly, but Stars goalkeeper Tapuwa Kapini was in fine form as he brought off some excellent saves.
The Ajax players did well in their passing, but were off-target with their shots.
The same was said about the visitors, as they were certainly not the same team who led the Premier Soccer League log at the end of December.
Supersport move up
Supersport United beat Lamontville Golden Arrows 1-0 to qualify for the quarterfinals of the Absa Cup in hot weather in Pretoria on Saturday afternoon. United were leading 1-0 at half-time.
The Pretoria teams, Mamelodi Sundowns and Supersport United, are serious contenders for the Absa Cup and both have now qualified for the quarterfinals.
The game at the Caledonian Ground started at a slow pace under scorching heat. United left-footed midfielder Daine Klaite put a smile on his coach’s face in the 18th minute when he scored from a free kick from 25m. Klaite’s quickly taken shot surprised Arrows and the ball rolled into an empty net.
Arrows coach Manqoba Mnqithi made several changes in the second half, but his strike force failed to crack a solid United defensive wall of James Matola and Sibusiso Gaxa.
Deep into the second half, Mnqithi introduced attacking midfielder Papi Zotwane for the tiring Joseph Hanekhanye, who had given United’s defence a lot of work.
United won the Absa Cup two years ago, beating Bidvest Wits 2-0, and are aiming to repeat the feat.
Benoni Premier qualify
Benoni Premier United qualified for the quarterfinals too in extra time when they beat Mvela League Bay United 2-1 in the 103rd minute at Mahlareng Stadium in Tembisa on Saturday.
Bay United made Benoni sweat before qualifying when Benoni won narrowly in a game of two obvious halves, the first belonging to Benoni and the second to Bay United. Benoni led 1-0 at half-time.
Benoni scored in the 17th minute when Kahlego Loke received a pass from Tshepo Masilela and made no mistake in sticking the ball in the back of the net.
Bay United were unlucky not to get a goal in the 22nd minute when their striker Peter Kirsten was one on one with Benoni goalkeeper Noel Yobou, but failed to score and shot straight into the hands of Yobou.
As the two teams were firing from one end to another, Benoni striker Obinna Okafor failed to get on target when his shot went wide in the 33rd minute.
In the second half, Bay United surprised everybody by gaining the ascendancy when everybody thought they would succumb to altitude.
It came as no surprise when striker Kirsten equalised in the 54th minute, forcing the two teams to go into extra time to decide the winner for the day.
Super substitute Bongani Twala, who replaced Barnard Parker in the 68th minute, scored the all-important goal for his team in the 103rd minute of extra time to put his team back in the competition.
Benoni were a happy bunch at the end for qualifying for the ”Cup of Dreams”, though they are relegation candidate unless they improve in their remaining few games of the elite Premier Soccer League. — Sapa