The Telkom Knockout Cup Round of 16 took centre stage this weekend where there were four matches scheduled for Saturday.
Kaizer Chiefs managed to book their spot in the last eight after beating Cape Town City 4-2 on penalties at Cape Town Stadium.
In the other match of the afternoon, Orlando Pirates dispatched Stellenbosch FC 1-0 at Orlando Stadium through Thembinkosi Lorch’s late strike, but our focus is on the two other matches played on the same day.
Golden Arrows 1-0 Polokwane City
In Durban, Golden Arrows hosted Polokwane City at Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium in a clash that got underway at 15:00 and the hosts secured an important 1-0 win.
Steve Komphela’s side had the upper hand in the opening half, but they were not clinical in the final third.
Although both teams had a fair amount of chances to break the deadlock toward the end of the opening half, neither side could find the back of the net.
Zlatko Krmptic’s troops continued to probe for a winning goal through the likes of Puleng Tlolane but they could not beat goalkeeper Edmore Sibanda who manned Arrows’ posts.
The encounter had to be decided on extra time when Sibusiso Sibeko piled the pressure on the opposition defence in the box and took a shot, but it deflected off Nicholas Motloung and into the back of his own net.
The own goal sealed Abafana Bes’thende's passage to the next round of the tournament as Rise and Shine bowed out of the competition.
SuperSport United 1-1 Baroka (3-2 pens)
The MTN8 champions had another shot at winning a trophy is concerned as they welcomed the reigning TKO Cup champions Baroka FC at Lucas Moripe Stadium.
Following a slow start into the clash, Bakgaga Ba Mphahlele were the first to threaten as they managed to run behind their hosts’ defence.
The visitors came close to finding the back of the net when Gerald Phiri Junior’s set-piece went over the crossbar on the stroke of half time.
Wedson Nyirenda’s side forced their way into the SuperSport box and broke the deadlock through Mduduzi Mdantsane's penalty in the 59th minute.
Mdantsane would chase a brace in the 69th minutes, but Ronwen Williams was alert to collect the midfielder’s low effort.
However, as they thought the game was over, Bradley Grobler was well-placed in the box to finish off Thamsanqa Gabuza’s cross right at the death to take the game to extra time.
Resulting from the 1-1 draw after extra time, the encounter had to be decided on penalties, and in the end, United edged Baroka 3-2 after being allowed to claw back during the shoot-out.
