Steve Komphela

Kaizer Chiefs coach Steve Komphela (Photo by Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images)

Telkom Knockout semifinal results: Wits to meet Bloem Celtic in final

Polokwane City’s luck finally ran out!

Steve Komphela

Kaizer Chiefs coach Steve Komphela (Photo by Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images)

Polokwane City’s luck in penalty shootouts finally ran out on Sunday, as they failed to advance further in the Telkom Knockout after they were beaten 4-3 by Bloemfontein Celtic at the Old Peter Mokaba stadium on Sunday.

The two sides slugged it out for 90 minutes in a relentless contest with neither side finding the back of the net. It would take the first half of extra time for Celtic to finally break the deadlock when Tshego Mabaso crashed one in two minutes before the teams has to change sides again.

As the home side looked done and dusted, Rendani Ndou gave them a lifeline when he netted through five minutes from time.

Usually the hero for the hosts, Rodney Ramagalela was the villain in the shootout as he skied his effort. City failed to recover as Celtic advanced through to their first cup final in five years.

Wits knock Chiefs out

On Saturday, Wits booked their place in the  final when they beat a ten-man Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 at the Bidvest stadium.

After a tense start to the game, James Keene finally broke the deadlock in the 28th minute when he headed past Itumeleng Khune.

Starting the second half with a one-goal disadvantage on top of being one man down, Amakhosi coach Steve Komphela was left with no choice but to respond with an aggressive move in order to get back in the game. He introduced Venezuelan forward Gustavo Paez in place of defender Daniel Cardoso.

The move almost paid off instantly as Paez pounced on a long ball on a counter-attack which afforded Chiefs a numerical advantage as he and Siphiwe Tshabalala were two-on-one against Wits defender, Sifiso Hlanti.

The Wits man would come off tops as he scrambled to stop the Venezuelan’s cross from connecting with the veteran Bafana midfielder.

Paez continued to be a menace as his side dominated the game despite being a man down, going one-on-one with Wits keeper Darren Keet before shooting wide to the dismay of the away support which outnumbered the home crowd. However that would not have counted as he had been flagged off-side.

Chiefs dominated much  of the second half but could not find an equaliser as it ended 1-0 to Wits, who will meet Celtic in the final at the Princess Magogo stadium in Durban.