Premier Soccer League

Mamelodi Sundowns through to the semi-finals of the MTN8 cup

Goals from Sibusiso Vilakazi and Wayne Arendse ensured that the Brazilians proceeds to the next round of the competition which they have not won in the past 10 years.

Mamelodi Sundowns are through to the semi-finals following a 2-0 victory over Golden Arrows at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Sundowns went to this encounter with pressure as they captain Hlompho Kekana once stressed the importance of doing well at the beginning of the season tournaments.

Mamelodi Sundowns

Sundowns made three changes from the squad that defeated Polokwane City midweek in a league game as they eyeing the top eight title this season. Vilakazi broke the deadlock in the 39th minute to put his side ahead having after a dominant first half.

Arendse doubled the lead in the 70th minute with a headed effort after connecting nicely with a ball played by Gaston Sirino.
The first half of the match belonged to Sundowns, who enjoyed a lot of ball possession especially in the midfield and with Themba Zwane and Vilakazi in the thick of things.

Their first clear goalscoring opportunity fell in the path of Vilakazi in the 29th minute, but the attacking midfielder failed to find the target with just Nkosingiphile Gumede to beat.
Vilakazi made up for the missed opportunity nine minutes later finding the back of the net after he was set up by Zwane.

Arrows, on the other hand, struggled to get out of their half and tried to catch Sundowns on the counter-attack through the pace of Lerato Lamola.
The match went into the half-time break with the Brazilians enjoying the 1-0 lead.

In the second half, Arrows improved the tempo of their game and were able to threaten Sundowns, but lacked composure to trouble Kennedy Mweene in goals for the Brazilians.

Arrows attempt to get back into the match suffered a huge blow when Arendse doubled the lead for Sundowns in the 70th minute to give them a comfortable 2-0 lead.

The big defender made good use of a ball played by Sirino to net the second goal and give his team a comfortable win over Clinton Larsen’s side.

Knox Mutizwa got the last chance for Arrows in the dying minutes of the game with a bicycle kick, but could not find the target as Pitso Mosimane’s charges held on to the 2-0 win to book a place in the semi-finals of the MTN8.

Source: Daily Sun