MARITZBURG SUNK BY LATE SUPERSPORT GOAL
09 February, 2022
SuperSport United scored in the 89th minute as Maritzburg United lost their Nedbank Cup last 32 encounter 1-0 at the Harry Gwala Stadium on Wednesday evening.
In their first fixture since the Christmas and Afcon break, Maritzburg created some decent chances on the night but were unable to have the beating of Matsatsantsa goalkeeper Ronwen Williams.
It had been SuperSport who had the first clear chances of the evening when Iqraam Rayners flashed a header wide - and then from a route-one move, Rayners went clean through on goal, although United shot-stopper Marcel Engelhardt came to the rescue with a very good reflex save as he palmed the ball to safety.
Maritzburg had a good opportunity themselves when Daylon Claasen snatched the ball off he SuperSport midfield on the half hour and stormed goalwards, hitting a curling effort towards the bottom corner only for Williams to make a sharp save.
The Team of Choice's debutant strike duo Tawanda Macheke and Friday Samu showed some promise in the second half and at times combined well.
That was the case in the 74th minute when Macheke surged forward and then crossed for Samu, whose snap shot was blocked by Williams, who then denied the Maritzburg man on the rebound as well.
The match looked like going to extra time as things remained tight in the final 10 minutes of the game. But SuperSport had other ideas - from the swiftest of counter attacks, Rayners sprinted 50 metres up field and curled an excellent shot into the top corner from outside the big box.
STARTING XI: Engelhardt, Rae, Daniels, Ndengane, Ritchie, Lukhubeni, Graham, Baloyi, Claasen, Samu and Macheke.
SUBS: Leaner, Ismail, Kewuti, Palace, Human, Njoti, Skelem, Soukouna and Theron.
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