Johannesburg - Marumo Gallants held their nerve to become the first team to qualify for the final of the Nedbank Cup as they beat Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila (TTM) 1-0 in the semi-final at Thohoyandou Stadium on Friday night.
With this win, Gallants will face either the recently-crowned DStv Premiership champions Mamelodi Sundowns or Royal AM, who’ll meet in the second semi-final on Saturday night, in the final next month.
Despite the two teams playing in two different divisions, with Gallants in the top-tier, while Gallants are in the second-tier, the bragging rights of Limpopo were still up for grabs.
Perhaps, it was that the two teams claimed to be defending champions of the competition that made this game a sought-after-contest. Gallants bought the status of TTM, who had won the Nedbank Cup, at the end of last season.
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Many pundits, though, will feel that sanity prevailed as the top-tier side marched to the final, while many will be looking forward to seeing coach Dan “Dance” Malesela in the final.
Maselela has a bit of history with the competition. He became the first coach to inspire a GladAfrica Championship team to a triumph in the competition after they beat Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 in the final in 2019.
Malesela, though, will be disappointed with the poor behaviour of Katlego Otladisa who'll miss the next two league matches after receiving a red card for dissent when he was substituted.
Since dressing in the military regalia against SuperSport United in the quarter-final, as a tribute to his late friend Arnold Mudau, the players of coach Lucky Nelukau’s have been obedient soldiers that adhered to his commands.
Against SuperSport, TTM’s never-say-die attitude ensured that they came-back-from two goals down in regulation time to take the match to extra time when they won the battle 3-2.
But given the magnitude of Friday’s tie, perhaps the instructions were tweaked a bit: get the man and the ball. Dangerous tackles and counter-attacking football were the order of the day from TTM for most of the first half.
Junior Dion, who had scored three of Gallants four goals in the competition, was the first victim of those tackles after he was subbed off in the first 20 minutes after Biodun Alabihad stamped on his left thigh.
Despite the flying tackles, referee Abongile Tom did his best to calm down the hot head in what was fast becoming a fierce battle between the two rivals, with most of the culprits merely walking away with verbal warnings.
Dan Malesela will be making a second appearance in the #NedbankCup final following a narrow 1-0 win courtesy of Thato Khiba’s deflected cross in the semifinal against TTM. pic.twitter.com/fMFOiztwid
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) April 29, 2022
Malesela’s ball-playing team dominated most of the possession in the first half. But the clearest scoring chances belonged to Nelukau’s soldiers, who were waiting on Gallants before coming out with counter-outs.
Rendani Ndou had TTM’s first chance of the game after connecting well with a Lebogang Mlangeni curling cross before placing his glancing effort into the arms of King Ndlovu.
But it was TTM’s captain Rhulani Manzini that came closest to snatching the lead on the stroke of half-time as his dipping and curling set-piece rattled the crossbar before it sailed away from danger.
The tempo of the game decreased in the second half, allowing Gallants to see more of the ball. But they failed to instantly turn possession into a goal after Tshego Gumede headed Celimpilo Ngema’s corner-kick wide off the far-post.
But Gallants’ persistence paid off in the 65th minute after Ngema found Joseph Malongoane who attempted a weighted cross that came off the toes of defender Luvuyolwethu Mpeta, whose deflection beat his own keeper Gershin Kock.
Nelukau unleashed his trickster Tsepe “Skwama” Matete on Gallants, hoping to cut their defence open. But Gallants’ defence stood their ground, repelling TTM’s danger.
In the end, Mpeta's error was enough to see Gallants progress to the final hurdle of the competition, where a date with Sundowns or Royal awaits.