Isithembiso, One Lion progress to Philly's Games final

One Lion beat Ama BEE 2-0 at a wet Phomolong Sports Ground in Tembisa on New Year’s Day to secure their place in Philly's Games final. Lions went into the game leading 3-2 after a first leg win on Friday.

Ama BEE were caught sleeping in the 54th minute as they made it 1-0. Ama BEE had to chase the game after that second-half goal and left plenty of gaps at the back as they tried to narrow the aggregate score. One Lion took advantage of that and made it 2-0 in added time, with the team from Ivory Park earning their spot in the finals 5-2 on aggregate.

In the other semifinal, Destroyers beat Isithembiso 1-0 in the second leg to take the match to a penalty shootout, after the first leg ended 2-1 to Isithembiso FC. The 2-2 aggregate score meant that a penalty shootout was necessary to decide the finalist after 180 minutes of football. After a marathon shootout, both teams had scored four penalties each out of the five.

It was up to sudden death to separate the two sides, with Isithembiso winning 6-5 to set up an intriguing final with One Lion to be played on Monday, 2 January.

The final will be at 3pm at the Esqongweni Sports Grounds, and the match will be live on SuperSport channels 202 and 209. The winner of the tournament will pocket R200 000, while the runner-up will win R70 000 in prize money.