Durban — Royal AM defeated Cape Town City 5-4 on penalties and dumped them out of the Nedbank Cup at the Cape Town Stadium in the Mother City on Sunday evening.
Thwihli Thwahla booked their ticket into the last 16 of the competition and knocked out The Cityzens for the second competition in a row.
Following their disappointment in their last league outing, City coach Eric Tinkler opted to use this Nedbank Cup encounter as a means to hand various individuals a chance.
Bongani Mpandle in goals alongside Relebogile Mokhuoane and Jaden Rhodes upfront were granted unfamiliar starting berths and it showed in the early stages of the match.
The hosts are normally associated with a brand of football that's easy on the eye with their passing, quick tempo and intensity being their trade but were from it and handed the visitors an opportunity.
The influence of recently returned Head Coach John Maduka can be clearly seen in the movements and energy of Royal AM as they matched City for every stride.
The two teams were deadlocked in terms of possession in the first half, creating a few opportunities that were few and far between, the best of them falling for Juan Zapata in the 35th minute.
The Colombian-born midfield dynamo latched onto an exquisite Lyle Lakay cross but failed to make the right connection from close range and let the game head into the break on level terms.
Both teams kicked off the second stanza with two great chances on opposite ends of the pitch.
Mpandle pulled off a blinding save off a Royal AM corner 15 seconds before Darwin Gonzalez's low cross was missed by a whisker of Zapata’s foot on the other side, an indication of both teams’ intentions.
The second half was littered with a lot of interruptions and the aggressive nature of the match forced people into robust challenges, affecting the flow of the match
Tinkler cut a frustrated figure heading into extra time as his side failed to capitalise on numerous horrendous blunders by the Thwihli Thwahla defence and their good work offensively.
City recorded a staggering 19 goal attempts in the 120 minutes played but failed to make any of them count.
In the end, the two sides could not edge each other and required the lottery of a penalty shootout.
IOL Sport