Golden Arrows are through to the semi-finals of the 2019 Nedbank Cup after beating Bloemfontein Celtic by two goals to one in Bloemfontein on Saturday afternoon.
Zimbabwean striker Knox Mutizwa grabbed a brace for the Steve Komphela-led side. Abafana besthende have joined the only surviving National First Division side, TS Galaxy in the semis.
Before kick-off, there was a moment of silence in respect of the recent cyclone victims in Zimbabwe and Mozambique, as well as the late Arthur Bartman.
Lehlohonolo Seema of Celtic and Steve Komphela of Arrows were eager to see their teams in the last four of the tournament.
Abafana besthende were piling on the pressure in the first half, but their efforts were in vain. The visitors had a number of chances to open the scoring, but they were wasteful as they allowed Siwelele to recover.
In the second half, Celtic fans seemed optimistic as they were always on their feet, doing what they do best. However, the introduction of Lerato Lamola broke their hearts. 10 minutes later, Phunya Selesele restored parity.
Knox Mutizwa completed his brace in stoppage time to make it 2-1 to Arrows. Abafana besthende held on to their lead to book a spot in the semi-finals of the Nedbank Cup.
Arrows coach Steve Komphela questioned some of the decisions taken by the game official.
“I still need to go back to the monitor, I thought it should stand and I stand to be corrected. There’s another one where I thought it should have been a penalty, but the most important thing is to go to the next round.”
Celtic coach Lehlohonolo Seema says that they had a very disappointing first half.
“We had a very disappointing first half, we couldn’t play. So I think we were more cautious than them. Once we came out second half, we played openly and missed some chances, but the way we conceded. It’s something we spoke about; you never leave Lamola or Mutizwa, especially when you are in attack.”
Kaizer Chiefs will take on Cape Town City in what promises to be a mouth-watering encounter at the Mbombela stadium on Sunday afternoon in the last match of the 2019 Nedbank Cup quarter-finals.
