Super sub Ngcobo breaks Sundowns hearts
Anyone who questioned the logic behind Kaizer Chiefs purchase of striker Sthehmbiso Ngcobo were soundly answered on Saturday afternoon when the lanky attacker showed the maturity of a seasoned veteran to head Chiefs to a 1-0 victory over Mamelodi Sundowns in a Telkom Charity Cup semi-final at Soccer City.
The game looked headed for a penalty shootout when Ngcobo rose to meet Siphiwe Tshabalala’s cross to give Chiefs victory in additional time at the end of the game. The victory meant that Chiefs go into the final against Orlando Pirates and can now secure their 10th Charity Cup title.
Given that this was the first real competitive match the teams began the game at a slow pace and were not showing the kind of sharpness they would have during the regular season.
In the latter stages of the half Chiefs began to up the tempo. In the 37th minute Chiefs playmaker Mandla Masango did well to control a pass from the right and just inside the Sundowns 18-yard area, he then turned his marker but his effort although on target lacked the power to trouble Marlin who made an easy save.
A minute later Chiefs were awarded an indirect free kick inside the Sundowns 18-yard area. Yende managed to hit the ball over the defensive wall but Marlin again managed to make the crucial save and sent the ball out for a corner.
The first half ended goalless.
Masango was proving to be a handful for Sundowns eleven minutes after the restart as he drove Molekwane’s lay up from the right towards goal; Marlin rose up off the ground and blocked the ball with his fists.
Yende provided a moment of magic in the 68th minute as he dispossessed Khenyeza in his own goal mouth and stormed all the way up the field and was able to power past whatever Sundowns threw in his way and eventually he laid the ball off to Dladla, but his shot from outside the Sundowns box sailed high and wide.
Musona linked up well with Nale on 72 minutes as they exchanged a series of neat passes before Nale moved wide to the right and sent in a cross back to Musona who connected with the ball but missed the target from close range.
Sundowns were being pegged back by Chiefs as the game drew to a close and a lapse at the back by the Amakhosi allowed Pattison to storm down the right wing before cutting the ball across goal.
He managed to find substitute Cale at the opposite end but with the goal at his mercy Cale banged the ball well wide of Khune in the 80th minute.
Cale again had the Chiefs fans in a panic in the 84th minute when he unleashed a thunderbolt of a shot towards Khune from around 24 yards from goal, the Bafana number one was at his acrobatic best as he got back to push the ball over his post for a corner.
Just as it looked like the game was headed for a penalty shoot-out Chiefs grabbed the winner, Musona had a pot shot at goal from the right which had Marlin at full stretch pushing the ball away.
All he did was drop it in the path of Tshabalala who floated the ball back in towards goal where Sthembiso Ngocobo, on as a second half substitute, headed the ball into the empty net to set up a meeting between Chiefs and their Soweto rivals in Orlando Pirates in the Telkom Charity Cup final.
Kaizer Chiefs (0) 1 (Ngcobo 90+3)
Mamelodi Sundowns (0)