Lamontville Golden Arrows secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium on Sunday evening to book their place in the MTN8 semi-finals.
Khulekani Shezi scored the decisive goal in the 53rd minute as Abafana Bes’thende became the fourth and final team to advance to the last four, joining defending champions Orlando Pirates, Mamelodi Sundowns and Sekhukhune United.
Despite dominating possession for large periods and creating several promising opportunities, Chiefs were unable to find the back of the net as Arrows produced a disciplined defensive display to protect their narrow lead.
Amakhosi had the better of the early exchanges and created their best chances through Nkosingiphile Ngcobo. In the 28th minute, Luke Baartman set up Ngcobo, but the midfielder fired over the crossbar after failing to beat goalkeeper Edward Maova.
Ngcobo was presented with another excellent opportunity just before half-time after being played in by Wandile Duba, but Maova produced a crucial close-range save to keep the scores level.
Arrows also threatened in the opening half, with Brandon Petersen denying Philani Khumalo on two occasions, in the 14th and 30th minutes, as the teams went into the interval locked at 0-0.
Chiefs continued to enjoy significant possession after the restart, but it was Arrows who broke the deadlock against the run of play.
Shezi surged forward on an overlapping run down the right flank in the 53rd minute and surprisingly beat Petersen at the near post to give Arrows a 1-0 lead.
Chiefs coach Fernando Da Cruz responded by introducing new signing Langelihle Phili in the 63rd minute as the hosts pushed for an equaliser.
However, Arrows goalkeeper Maova and the defence stood firm to frustrate Chiefs for the remainder of the encounter.
Da Cruz was left disappointed by his side’s failure to make their opportunities count, particularly in front of a large home crowd at FNB Stadium.
I’m disappointed for the players because they make a lot of effort and also disappointed for the fans because there were a lot of fans today in the stadium,” Da Cruz said after the match.
We had a lot of chances to score but we didn’t score and unfortunately, on their only chances, they score. They had one cross and they scored. It is a big disappointment tonight.”
For Arrows coach Simo Dladla, the game plan was centred around retaining possession and frustrating Chiefs, particularly given the quality of the opposition.
We came here knowing very well that it was not going to be an easy game, but we knew that if we kept the ball longer, we stood a very good chance to frustrate the opposition team,” Dladla explained.
The Arrows coach admitted that his side struggled at times to progress possession in the first half but praised their rotations and passing, while acknowledging that technical errors let them down.
Dladla was particularly pleased with the timing of Shezi’s goal, although he conceded that Arrows subsequently dropped deeper than initially planned.
I thought we got the goal at the right time and then from there we sat a little bit deeper. We did not plan to do that; we defended closer to our box, but with the formidable reinforced defence we managed to deal with the 1v1s and the balls in the box,” he said.
CYes, I thought we did very well as a team.”
The victory sends Arrows into the MTN8 semi-finals, while Chiefs must now shift their focus to the Betway Premiership as they look to bounce back when they host Sekhukhune United on Wednesday. Arrows will also return to league action on Wednesday when they travel to face Durban City.
Following the conclusion of the match, the MTN8 semi-final draw was conducted, setting up two intriguing clashes. Sekhukhune United will face defending champions Orlando Pirates, while Mamelodi Sundowns will take on Golden Arrows for a place in the final. The first legs of the semi-finals will be played over the weekend of 22-23 August, with the return legs scheduled for 29-30 August.
Image By: Kaizer Chiefs