Siwelele booked their ticket into the Carling Knockout quarterfinals this weekend owing to a gruelling 4-3 win on penalties (0-0 after extra time) over Polokwane City at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday night.
🏆 A BIG WIN FOR SIWELELE FC! 💚🤍🔥 Victory is ours! We get the job done in the Carling Knockout! 💪 #SiweleleFC #CarlingKnockout #Aquelle https://t.co/idV4rXOSL2
— Siwelele Football Club (@Siwelele_FC) October 24, 2026
The game commenced at a timid pace as Siwelele settled well on the ball early on. Shadrack Kobedi and Thato Letshedi often found themselves dictating the pace for Siwelele but battled to create any notable damage going forward.
Despite seeing less of the ball, Polokwane City looked dangerous on the break as the likes of Tidimalo Molokwane and Lucky Malatsi kept the Siwelele backline on their toes with clever movement against their opposite numbers.
While Siwelele set the tone, Polokwane City ended the half with nine shots, none of which were on target.
The Bloemfontein side were likewise blunt in their attacking endeavours with their three shots at goal making no difference in the first half.
It was much of the same after the restart for Siwelele, who bossed the possession count during the first 10 minutes of the second half.
However, the travelling side were often left frustrated going forward and battled to make their chances stick despite their dominance on the ball.
As was the case in the first 45, the hosts often searched for the counter-attacking opportunity and once again recorded the most shots in the second half.
With no breakthrough from either side, the game went into extra-time with the away side feeling most frustrated given their sustained pressure on the ball.
It was a continuous struggle for both teams to create any notable scoring chances during the first half of extra-time, while Siwelele remained the more progressive side on the ball.
Siwelele were dealt with a blow during the extra-time period after Aphiwe Baliti received his marching orders in the 107th minute, prompting Rise and Shine to increase their attacking pressure.
As the game went into the dreaded penalty shootout, Siwelele’s Siyabonga Ndebele was first to miss, which was followed by misses from Tidimalo Molokwane and Oscarine Masuluke, putting Polokwane City under immense pressure.
With Siwelele staring victory in the eye, Thato Letshedi was on hand to score the winning penalty as the Bloem outfit advanced to the quarterfinals of the showpiece.
Thato Letshedi wins it for Siwelele 🤩🟢 The men from Bloem march onto the #CarlingKnockoutCup quarter-finals ⏩ #SSDiski https://t.co/HrD0y74MlY
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) October 24, 2026
Polokwane City: 0
Siwelele: 0
Siwelele win 4-3 on penalties
Polokwane City: Masuluke, Nkwe, Nkaki, Manthosi, Ramaja (Nikani 100’), Philander (Daniels 59’ Sebone 70’), Kambala, Balthabane, Dlamini (Maphangule 119’), Molokwane, Malatsi
Siwelele: February, Mfolozi, Sesane, Ndebele, Baliti, Jeza (Thulo 79’), Kobedi, Letshedi, Potsane (Noge 99’), Mazibuko (Marou 116’), Saile (N’Guessan 58’)