Andriamirado 'Dax' Andrianarimanana, Kaizer Chiefs & Donashano Malama, Chippa United, April 2019Backpagepix

Chippa United 2-4 Kaizer Chiefs: Amakhosi show character as they seal Nedbank Cup final berth

Kaizer Chiefs eased into the 2019 Nedbank Cup final after defeating Chippa United 4-2 in a thrilling semi-final clash which was played in Port Elizabeth on Saturday night.

The Chilli Boys were hoping to stun another top Premier Soccer League (PSL) team having eliminated Mamelodi Sundowns and Bidvest Wits from the Cup competition.

Kurt Lentjies, who has been a consistent performer in the tournament, started just behind the main striker Lerato Manzini in a 4-5-1 formation as Clinton Larsen adopted a cautious approach.

Amakhosi have kept their hopes of winning a record-extending 14th Nedbank Cup trophy alive by eliminating a dangerous Cape Town City side in the quarter-finals.

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Andriamirado 'Dax' Andrianarimanana‚ who recently netted his first Chiefs goal against Black Leopards, started in midfield alongside Willard Katsande and George Maluleka in a 4-3-3 formation deployed by Ernst Middendorp.

Amakhosi were the better side in the opening stages, but they were forced to make a change as an injured Kabelo Mahlasela was replaced by Dumisani Zuma just 14 minutes into the game.

Mbongeni Mzimela was definitely the busier of the two goalkeepers as he denied George Maluleka (twice) and Khama Billiat with some decent saves as Chiefs pushed for an early goal.

However, the former AmaZulu FC shot-stopper made a mistake nine minutes before half-time just when the Chilli Boys were beginning to find their feet in the match.

Mzimela failed to handle Billiat's low through pass and Zuma pounced and hit the back of the net from close range to make it 1-0 to Chiefs heading into the half-time break.

Chiefs dominated the match after the restart, but they were wasteful in front of goal as Dax was denied by Mzimela, before Billiat missed the target from close range.

They were left to rue those missed opportunities as Chippa levelled matters against the run of play when Tebogo Makobela's cross was headed home by Andile Mbenyane to make it 1-1 in the 64th minute.

The momentum was with the Chilli Boys and they managed to take the lead for the first time on the night six minutes later when Thabo Rakhale's cross was turned home by Manzini to make it 2-1 to Chippa.

Amakhosi, who have netted 66.7% of their goals in the final 15 minutes of their Nedbank Cup games hit back through Dax when he scored with a low shot from close range to make it 2-2 in the 76th minute.

Chiefs then ran rampant in the dying minutes of the game with Billiat tormenting the Chippa defence as he set-up Bernard Parker, who scored from close range to make it 3-2 to the visitors.

The 2015/16 PSL Player of the Season Billiat then sealed Chiefs' 4-2 victory over Chippa when he combined with Maluleka, before beating Mzimela with a stunning long-range shot.

As a result, Amakhosi reached the Nedbank Cup final for the first time since 2013 and they will now face National First Division (NFD) outfit TS Galaxy in this year's final on Saturday, May 18.

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