Cape Town City booked their spot in the semifinals of the MTN8 tournament this week following a tense 1-0 victory against Sekhukhune United at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Cape Town City started the game on a positive note and held most of the ball inside the first 10 minutes of the encounter.
Not holding back, Sekhukhune produced chances of their own but were unable to break the Citizens' backline during this period.
Babina Noko grew into the game as the 20th minute approached but were often met by aggressive defending by the away side.
The Citizens, on the other hand, were content with surrendering the ball and looked for the counter-attacking situation at every opportunity.
The game reached a tacky period midway through the first half in which neither side created any notable scoring opportunities.
While Darwin Gonzalez looked to attack the opposition goal from range, the likes of Linda Mntambo and Vincent Mncube actively searched to break the deadlock at the other end of the pitch.
City were awarded a penalty moments before the halftime break after the referee spotted an infringement inside the Sekhukhune area.
However, Darwin Gonzalez squandered his chance to give City the lead after letting off a powerful shot that hit the crossbar.
There was little to separate both teams after the restart while there was no real goal scoring opportunities produced at both ends.
Nevertheless, Cape Town City continued to dominate possession as the hour-mark approached.
Babina Noko’s pressure leading up to the 70th minute had City back pedalling on a couple of occasions, however, Eric Tinkler’s side did well to neutralise the home side’s attacking moves under pressure.
City were awarded a penalty in the 85th minute of the match after Siphesihle Mkhize handled the ball inside the area following a freekick situation inside the Sekhukhune half.
After missing his first attempt from the spot, Gonzalez did well to send the goalkeeper the wrong way in his second penalty attempt.
✅ Pirates
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) August 10, 2024
✅ Stellenbosch
✅ Cape Town City
At the second time of asking Darwin González converts from the penalty spot to send the Cityzens through to the semifinals of the #MTN8 pic.twitter.com/5CuotRkHTL
After a late flurry of goal attempts by Sekhukhune, City managed to hold on in securing a hard fought 1-0 victory on away soil.
Sekhukhune United: (0) 0
Cape Town City: (0) 1 (Darwin 87’)
Sekhukhune United: Sangare, Mkhabela, Cardoso, Yamba, Makgalwa (Mogaila 59’), Mkhize, Monare, Langa, Mntambo, Ohizu (Seseane 71’), Mncube
Cape Town City: Keet, Mkhize, Petrus, Cupido, Gordinho (Nyama 36’), Makaringe (Goedeman 61’), Mokotjo, Domingo (Tijueza 90’), Sereets (Francis 61’), Ahshene (Slatsha 91’), Gonzalez