Amakhosi will play Manchester City in the Challenge final at Loftus on Saturday at 3pm.

It was one of the most dramatic penalty shootouts between the two Soweto giants and had the 30 000-strong crowd on the edge of their seats.

Both goalkeepers, Moeneeb Josephs and Itumeleng Khune, did their best to psyche out their opponents in the shootout. Bucs paid the price by missing three and having one saved. Chiefs missed two and had one penalty saved. The winning penalty was scored by Rooi Thabang.

Despite changing over 1-1 at the interval, Amakhosi had the better of the first half. Chiefs took the initiative from the opening whistle and were rewarded when Josta Dladla made it 1-0 after ten minutes when he latched onto Abia Nale’s defence-splitting though ball and fired his shot into the far corner giving keeper Josephs no chance.

Josephs kept the Buccaneers in the game with two breathtaking saves — a rocket from Knowledge Musona and a powerful Mandla Masango strike in the 13th and 20th minutes respectively.

Josephs did well on both occasions as Chiefs threatened to overrun the shell-shocked Bucs. Then Pirates captain Lehlohonolo Seema was wide awake to head away a cross from Musona as Lawrence Molekwane rose to head home the cross from close range on 29 minutes.

But from the breakaway Chiefs were caught flat footed and livewire Dikgang Mabalane found Malawian international midfielder Josephy Kamwendo, who beat keeper Khune with a sweet shot to make it 1-1 against the run of play.

Josephs did well to deny hard-working Masango a goal on the stroke of half time with another fine save.

Amakhosi started well at the start of the second half but it was Bucs newcomer Andile Jali who forced Khune to make a smart save in the 55th minutes as Bucs hit Chiefs on the counter attack.

Both coaches made a number of changes to try and find the winner but the second half was a lot closer fought than the first 45 minutes with Bucs putting Chiefs under pressure and enjoying more possession.

Chiefs seemed to lose the drive and rhythm they had in the first period. Josephs was a virtual spectator in the second half.

The one surprise on the Chiefs team sheet was the absence of striker Kaizer Motaung junior, who was booed by the fans in Durban on Tuesday night where Amakhosi were beaten 1-0 by City.

Motaung junior was not even among the substitutes named by coach Vladimir Vermezovic. The Serbian coach did say beforehand he would be rotating his players.

With neither side taking any risks it was no surprise when the match went to the dreaded penalty shootout.

Source + Pic: supersport.co.za

Manchester City

The only goal of the match came late in injury time of the first half, which was netted by City skipper Stephen Ireland.

City made seven changes from the side that lost 2-0 to Orlando Pirates in Polokwane last Saturday and were given another runaround in the fast-paced opening half by a spirited Amakhosi.

City manager Mark Hughes still left out his two new strikers, Carlos Tevez and Roque Santa Cruz, who are still not fully fit. But he did include his new England international midfielder Gareth Barry along with England winger Shaun Wright-Phillips and England right back Wayne Bridge.

City’s new R325-million striker Emmanuel Adebayor, who was signed at the weekend form Arsenal, arrived in Durban on Tuesday but was not considered as he had not trained with his new teammates but he will likely play in Saturday’s final at Loftus.

City play the winner of the Soweto Derby between Chiefs and Pirates, which will be staged in Port Elizabeth at the new Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Thursday night, in the final on Saturday at 3pm.

Chiefs, like their arch-rivals Pirates, had the better of the exchanges in a first half watched by 32 000 plus fans that never got out of second gear.

Chiefs’ live wire midfielder David Mathebula sent a screamer over the City crossbar after only two minutes. Mathebula was in the thick of the action for Chiefs during an entertaining first 45 minutes.

Amakhosi coach Vladimir Vermezovic wisely decided to bring back his Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune earlier from his break after Khune played brilliantly in last month’s Confederations Cup helping Bafana finishing fourth.

Khune denied Wright-Phillips a goal when he rushed out and poached the ball off the England winger in the eighth minute.

City defender Ryan McGivern wasted a free header from a Barry free kick in the 12th minute when he rose unchallenged inside the Chiefs six-yard box but he headed wide.

Khune pulled off the save off the match when he did brilliantly to come off his line and push away an Ireland pile driver in the 19th minute.

Ireland did well to connect a Bridge cross and with only Khune to beat the City skipper watched in disbelief as the 22-year-old Khune threw himself at the shot and pushed it for a corner.

Chiefs’ Mandla Masango wasted a chance when he intercepted a poor pass from Dutch international Nigel de Jong but his weak shot sailed harmlessly past the woodwork on 26 minutes.

Khune saved a close-range effort from Barry on the half hour while the City keeper Stuart Taylor was taken by surprise in the 37th minute by a venomous 25-metre bullet from Mathebula that he did well in the end to block.

But Ireland put City into the lead with the last kick off the half when he pushed home a pass from Kelvin Etuhu to finally beat Khune and give the ambitious English Premiership outfit a rather fortunate lead at the interval.

Chiefs’ hero was Mathebula who came close inside the first five minutes of the second half to levelling the game. His first attempt on the 50th minute went agonisingly wide and less than 60 seconds later he forced Taylor to make a superb save at the expense of a corner.

City substitute Martin Petrov shaved the woodwork with a rasping shot from the left flank in the 67th minutes as the visitors tried to make the game safe.

The fans kept howling for Vermezovic to replace his out of touch striker Kaizer Motaung junior. Then, in the 81st minute, there was bedlam in the crowd as Motaung missed a sitter from close range with Taylor well beaten when it looked easier to score than miss which about summed up Motaung’s night.

Motaung was one of Chiefs’ best players at the end of last season but he seemed to freeze against City.

Chiefs, to their credit, kept City under pressure right to the final whistle.

New signing Mthokozisi Yende showed promises when he came on in the second half. He almost equalised with a wicked drive six minutes from time.

But Etuhu missed a sitter two minutes from time when, with only Khune to beat, he blasted wide.

Source + Pic: supersport.co.za