Mpumalanga ABC Motsepe League campaigning side, Acornbush United are through to the Nedbank Cup last-32.
They achieve this feat after beating Zizwe United from the Western Cape 6-3 in the extra time. The match had ended deadlocked three-all in regulation time.
The very tight but interesting match was held at Westdene Sports Complex in Bloemfontein, Free State on Saturday.
Striker Mlungisi “Mlungu” Nkosi of Acornbush, was the hero for his side, as he scored a hat-trick while Mduduzi Sibeko, Mfanafuthi Ntozelizwe and Velile Mdaka score one each. Meanwhile all Zizwe goals came via Mpho Erasmus.
The Western Cape based side was the first to score through Erasmus in the 9th minute. Acornbush equalised through Nkosi in the 35th minute, who scored again in the 40th minute to give his side a 2-1 lead going into the interval.
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Soon after the resumption of the second half, Zizwe equalised through Erasmus, who scored in the 47th minute.
Three minutes later, Erasmus made it 3-2 for Zizwe when he completed his hat-trick in the 50th minute.
Not to be undone, Nkosi also retaliated for Acornbush in the 60th minute when he equalized while also completing his hat-trick in the process.
The match ended three-all in regulation. But goals by Sibeko in the 97th minute, Ntozelizwe (106) and Mdaka (114) in the extra-time ensured that the Mpumalanga side became the last team to qualify to the last-32 of the Nedbank Cup this year’s edition.
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“We are very happy to have qualified for the last 32 of the Nedbank Cup. We are very proud of our players and the way they managed to come back into the match after trailing in the first 60 minutes. We are only in our third season of the ABC Motsepe League, so this is a great achievement for us. We are waiting in anticipation to see who we draw against but whoever we meet, I believe we will be able to give them a run for their money,” said head coach Macdonald “Bambino” Makhubedu.
With Acornbush qualification, Mpumalanga will have three teams in the pot when the Nedbank Cup’s last round of 32 is conducted next week Thursday, February 2.
Acornbush now join their provincial big brothers, Mbombela United and Witbank Spurs, who are campaigning in the national first division.
Mbombela booked their place after knocking out Magesi FC 2-0 while Spurs beat University of Pretoria 2-1. The draw will be broadcast live on SuperSport 4 at 19:30.
