Chiefs stun Sundowns to reach Nedbank Cup final

Kaizer Chiefs are in the final of the Nedbank Cup competition following a hard-fought 2-1 win over Mamelodi Sundowns at Loftus Versfeld on Sunday night. Amakhosi came from a goal down to reach their first domestic cup final since 2019. 

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Chiefs will play Orlando Pirates in the final on May 10 at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.

Duba starts Chiefs comeback

Wandile Duba sparked the comeback early in the second half after Teboho Mokoena had given Sundowns the lead on the stroke of half time.

Substitute Ashley du Preez sealed the win late in the match from close range, after the Brazilians failed to clear their lines from a free-kick played into the box. 

Nasreddine Nabi’s game plan worked to perfection as his team sat deep and allowed the Brazilians to dominate possession. The game was evenly matched in the opening 45 minutes, as both teams struggled to create clear chances in what was a tactical battle. 

Just when it looked like the game would head into the break goalless, Mokoena stepped up and unleashed a rocket from a free kick on the edge of the box. The ball struck the underside of the bar and went in past the helpless Bruce Bvuma, who had produced a few good saves to keep his side in the game. 

The Chiefs goalkeeper denied Iqraam Rayners 22 minutes into the match with a brilliant stop in a one-on-one situation. Chiefs’ best chance of the first half came 11 minutes before the break, with Gaston Sirino testing Ronwen Williams with a long-range effort, but the Sundowns number one parried the ball out for a corner.

Duba pounced on an error at the back by Lucas Suárez to equalise for Chiefs eight minutes into the second stanza. The Argentine defender carelessly gave the ball away to Duba, who raced towards goal and slotted past Williams. Du Preez completed the comeback in the 90th minute with a tap-in from a cross on the right, sending Chiefs fans into wild celebrations in Tshwane.

The goal did have a suspicion of offside, but the flag stayed down.

Pirates up next

Chiefs have set up a mouth-watering Soweto derby against bitter rivals Pirates. The Buccaneers, who are the defending champions, narrowly beat Marumo Gallants 1-0 thanks to Kabelo Dlamini’s solitary goal in an earlier kick-off.

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This will be Chiefs’ first domestic cup final since 2019, when they lost to TS Galaxy at Moses Mabhida Stadium. On that occasion, Zakhele Lepasa settled the spectacle with a last-minute penalty.