Mixed night in Belgium for SA stars
It was a mixed night of Belgian Cup action for South Africans as Darren Keet’s Kortrijk side won through, but Ayanda Patosi’s defending champions Lokeren were ousted on penalties.
Kortrijk were beaten finalists in this competition last season and remain on course to go one better in this campaign as they defeated Mons 1-0 to reach the quarterfinals.
Keet, who has been outstanding for the club this season, was rested for the match with Frenchman Remy Pillot taking his place.
Kortrijk will now play second-tier Sint Truiden in the next round after the letter were involved in an incredible 5-5 draw with Westerlo before winning through on penalties.
Patosi started for Lokeren against Gent in their 0-0 draw, but was replaced with 15 minutes of normal time remaining. The game went to penalties, with Gent winning 4-2 in the shoot-out.
Meanwhile in England, Steven Pienaar was back to his lovely best as Everton were held 1-1 by Arsenal at Goodison Park.
After going behind to a Theo Walcott goal inside the first minute, Everton hit back through Marouane Fellaini and looked the most likely to score again.
Pienaar’s partnership with Leighton Baines on the left for The Toffees was one of the highlights of the evening.
Finally in the Uefa Europa League, South African-born goalkeeper Dani Amos saw his chances of advancing to the knockout stages come to an end as his Israeli side Ironi Kiryat Shmona lost 2-0 at home to Spanish La Liga side Athletic Bilbao.
Shmona are bottom of their I with just two points from their five games to date, which means they cannot qualify for the next stage.
