Sundowns take down Gallants to reach Carling Knockout final

Mamelodi Sundowns beat Marumo Gallants 2-0 in the Carling Knockout semifinals at the Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium on Sunday afternoon. 

Man-of-the-Match Lucas Ribeiro scored from the spot before Neo Maema sealed the victory late in the game, as the Brazilians set up a final against Betway Premiership rookies Magesi FC on November 23.

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Ribeiro’s goal came after Lebogang Mabotja gave away a penalty five minutes after the break. The Gallants defender had his outstretched hand in an unnatural position to stop a cross by Peter Shalulile.

Referee Skhumbuzo Gasa was left with no option but to point to the spot and Ribeiro stepped up to give his side the lead with a cheeky little dink down the middle in the 53^rd minute.

There was little separating the two sides after the opening 45 minutes. Ronwen Williams was kept on his toes and made a couple of good saves to keep Sundowns in the game.

Before the break, the Tshwane giants played in patches but never really threatened. Gallants coach Dan Malesela would have been the happier of the two coaches heading into the break.

Sundowns were much better in the second stanza, even though they didn’t create many clear-cut chances.

Downs coach Manqoba Mngqithi celebrated the win at the final whistle but deep down he would have been unhappy with how his charges applied themselves for the majority of the game.

Bahlabane Ba Ntwa didn’t go down without a fight under the scorching sun in Bloemfontein. Towards the latter stages of the game, the defending league champions controlled the game better. Maema came off the bench to put the result beyond doubt with a venomous left-footed strike in injury time.

Masandawana will now play Magesi who recorded a narrow 1-0 win over Richards Bay in the other semifinal in KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday.

ALSO READ: Sundowns’ Mngqithi explains rotation policy amid supporter unease

The Limpopo team went on a giant killing spree en route to the final. They shocked Orlando Pirates in the first round before sending last season’s losing finalist TS Galaxy crashing out in the quarterfinal. The decider will be played at the Free State Stadium when the PSL programme resumes after the FIFA International break.