The Alex Masters Soccer League’s Top 8 final that was rained off on March 10, has finally been settled on penalty shootouts on March 17, and the trophy went the Chivas way, along with the gold medals and R2 500 prize money.
The abandonment of the match followed the heavy downpours accompanied by hail which swept most parts of Johannesburg at about 15:00 on March 10, just as the match was on the brink of going into the lottery of penalty shootouts.
The final, played at the Victoria Grounds in Lombardy East, had ended with the teams tied 2–2 and then went into an extra time that ended goalless.
This meant the teams would then go into a penalty shootout to decide the ultimate winner of the Top 8 but this was stopped in its tracks by the heavy downpours that followed.
According to AMSL secretary general Thabo Kok, the decision on the way forward was left for the AMSL Exco which later ruled that it go straight into penalties on March 17.
The match was a highly charged affair with club officials from both sides shouting instructions on the touchline and also expressing frustrations about the referee’s decisions, giving rise to the spectators’ fears that all hell might break loose.
On March 17, at the Victoria Grounds in Lombardy East, the match went straight to penalty shootouts and Chivas FC won 3–2 and was crowned the 2024 AMSL Top 8 champions after beating Herdbouys FC, who then pocked the silver medal and R1 500 prize money.
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