Penalties may favour Sundowns in Nedbank Cup decider

Mamelodi Sundowns may feel the marginally more comfortable side if their Nedbank Cup final with Orlando Pirates at the Mbombela Stadium on June 1 (kick-off 3pm) goes to penalties.

The Brazilians do have a penalty saving expert in goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, who performed heroics with Bafana Bafana at the Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast, and has already steered Sundowns through a shoot-out in the Nedbank Cup this season.

That was against University of Pretoria in the quarterfinals, as Sundowns won 4-3 following a 1-1 draw.

That is just their fifth shoot-out in 17 seasons of the Nedbank Cup since 2008,suggesting they usually either win or lose in ordinary time.

They have a 3-2 record in shootouts, also claiming victory against Kaizer Chiefs in the Last 16 in 2008 and, perhaps most famously, against Ajax Cape Town in the 2015 final at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

That game finished 0-0 after 120 minutes and it was Sundowns who held their nerves though Ajax had a penalty to win it and missed.

That remains the only Nedbank Cup final to date that was decided by penalties.

Sundowns did also lose to AmaZulu in the semifinals in 2010 and TTM at the same stage in 2021, so they have seen the bitter side of defeat.

Pirates have only won two of their six Nedbank Cup shootouts, so have fared considerably worse.

Their first four shootouts all came in the Last 32 as they lost to Santos (2008), Black Leopards (2019) and BidVest Wits (2020). Mixed in there is a 2014 win against Thanda Royal Zulu as they went on to lift the trophy that year.

They lost to Marumo Gallants in the Last 16 in 2022, but defeated third-tier Dondol Stars in the quarterfinals last season as they also went on to lift the trophy.

ORLANDO PIRATES NEDBANK CUP PENALTY SHOOTOUTS

2008: L32 (away) vs Santos 2-2 – Santos won 5-4 on penalties2014: L32 (away) vs Thanda Royal Zulu 3-3 – Pirates won 3-1 on penalties2019: L32 (away) vs Black Leopards 1-1 – Leopards won 5-4 on penalties

2020: L32 (home) vs BidVest Wits 3-3 – Wits won 3-2 on penalties

2022: L16 (away) vs Marumo Gallants 1-1 – Gallants won 5-4 on penalties

2023: QF (away) vs Dondol Stars 1-1 – Pirates won 5-4 on penalties

MAMELODI SUNDOWNS NEDBANK CUP PENALTY SHOOTOUTS

2008: L16 (away) vs Kaizer Chiefs 1-1 – Sundowns won 5-4 on penalties

2010: SF (away) vs AmaZulu 1-1 – AmaZulu won 4-3 on penalties
2015: F (neutral) Ajax Cape Town 0-0 – Sundowns won 4-3 on penalties

2021: SF (home) TTM 0-0 – TTM won 6-5 on penalties

2024: QF (away) vs University of Pretoria 1-1 – Sundowns win 4-3 on penalties