Sundowns fought their way to the semifinals of Bobsave Superbowl series when they beat tough Manning Rangers 1-0 in a nail-biting quarterfinal after 120 gruelling minutes at Loftus Versfeld on Sunday.
Rangers, whose performance belied their log position, took the game to their opponents, who were forced to make several changes to the side that swept aside Costa do Sol 2-0 in an African Champions League Cup first-round tie in Maputo last Sunday. Midfielder Lucky Qaba and defender Fabian McCarthy replaced injured midfield pair of Alex Bapela and Roger Feutmba and suspended defender Muisi Ajao.
The visitors, who made numerous raids into the Brazilians' penalty area, did in fact score in the 19th minute through striker Gilbert Mushangazhike only for the assistant referee to call offside.
Sundowns, who were well served by midfieders Charles Motlohi, Gift Kampamba and Dan Semake, made conditionss difficult for themselves when they sent floaters into the danger zone, but easily played into the hands of towering Rangers defenders Robbie Milne and Bradley Muir.
Rangers striker Samuel Makhubekla broke loose down the left flank but made a hash of the final pass when he shot metres over the bar in the 63rd minute, much to the annoyance of coach Sheperd Murape who pulled him out for Jabulani Ndwandwe five minutes later.
Sundowns, who had Papi Mbele coming on for midfielder Lucky Qaba in the 74th minute, felt hard done by referee Achmat Salie when he denied them a penalty after Raphael Chukwu was brought down in the box in the 75th minute.
Although the game completely swung Sundowns way, their finishing left much to be desired - they either shot direct to the goalkeeper or wide of the mark. In a last bid effort, Rangers sacrificed reliable defender Sipho Ndzuzo for midfieder Bruce Ramokadi in the 101st minute.
Lady luck turned her back on Scott in the 108th minute, when he turned the Rangers defence inside out and with Orwin off his line shot over the bar.
The 116th minute brought joy to the Sundowns camp when Kampamba offloaded to Mbele who unleashed a powerful shot that slipped out of Orwin's grasp and the never-say-die Chukwu was well positioned to deliver the knockout blow.
Sundowns will now face the either Bloemfontein Celtic or Kiazer Chiefs, who meet on Tuesday.
- Referee Achmat Salie booked Sundowns Gift Kampamba and Rangers Sipho Ndzuzo for dissent. -
Sapa
