TS Galaxy vs Mamelodi Sundowns locked horns in the Carling Knockout competition in Mbombela on Wednesday night.
Without seven of their first team players, Sundowns were behind 2-0 before the break after a disappointing first 20 minutes and were duly punished by Galaxy in what was a one-sided affair attack-wise.
Galaxy ran riot in the first half with two goals in the space of three minutes with Sphiwe Mahlangu and Mlungisi Mbunjana scoring in the 13th and 16th minute!
However, Sundowns regrouped in the second half to score from Marcelo Allende but were shortly reduced to ten men but somehow managed to force an equalizer deep into added time from Gaston Sirino to send the game into extratime.
The Rockets defeated Mamelodi Sundowns 5-4 on penalties after both teams failed to find the winner after 120 minutes of football.
Masandawana exit the #CarlingKnockout. Time to dust ourselves off and look to bounce back in the next one! 👆
TS Galaxy (12' Mahlangu, 16' Mbunjana) 2⃣➖2⃣ Mamelodi Sundowns (57' Allende, 90+7' Sirino)#Sundowns #DownsLive #CarlingKnockout pic.twitter.com/pNDbza2zQE
— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) October 18, 2023
TS Galaxy vs Mamelodi Sundowns: How it happened
Rhulani Mokwena's side had lost on penalties to Orlando Pirates in the final of the MTN8 in their last outing before the international break, and were without seven of their players who got called for international duty.
The situation forced Rhulani to make changes to his starting lineup for the game against Galaxy. Reyaad Pieterse replaced Ronwen Williams in the post, with Mosa Lebusa and Bongani Zungu given the nod to mann the defense while Rivaldo Coetzee maintained his slot at right-back
In the midfield, Sphelele Mkhulise and Rushine De Reuck started alongside Boutouil and Allende who both started the MTN8 final while Maboe and Mendieta joined Maema in the final third.
TS Galaxy coach also named a lineup with a few changes from their last outing: Fiacre Ntwari started in goal instead of Vasilije Kolak, with Marks Munya at left-back, Kamogelo Sebelebele and Lehlogonolo Mojela all started.
TS Galaxy in full control at the break
After Galaxy's 3-0 defeat to Stellenbosch on 4 October, Sead Ramovic's men made a quick start to this game, and their early threats paid off when they scored in the 13th minute and doubled their lead from a corner in the 16th minute.
Few minutes later, Sundowns could have reduced the deficit as Maboe was played in by Boutouil, but his effort went wide as he drove forward and shot.
The Brazilians continued to enjoy possession as they probed into Galaxy's backline, however, the Rockets stood strong to see out the first half on top of proceedings with a two-goal lead.
Second half recovery for Mamelodi Sundowns
Abdelmounaim Boutouil was taken off for Terrence Mashego just before the second half.
Sead Ramovic's men took their foot off the gas in the second half and Sundowns took control with a barrage of attacks which paid off in the 57th minute as Marcelo Allende pulled one back for the team to set a fight-back in full course.
But just when the Brazilians had an equalizer to fight for, Bongani Zungu was dismissed and Sundowns reduced to ten men in the 59th minute, making their mountain more difficult.
Both sides rang changes and pressured for more goals which never came even as time ran to the 90th minute.
It was during the seven added minutes that Sundowns finally got the equalizing goal from Gaston Sirino who equalized right at the last minute to force extra time.
Extra time didn't offer much because both teams held on and were content to decide the game on penalties.
During the shootout, Mbunjana, Letsoenyo, Sanoka, Munyai and Nurkovic all scored for TS Galaxy with only Siladi missing the fourth penalty.
Meanwhile, Mandela missed Sundowns' first spot kick but Sirino, Allende, Ramotsei and Mkhulise all scored the next four for the Brazilians before Lesiba Nku missed to send the team crashing out of the Carling Knockout competition.
Rhulani Mokwena's side have now lost back-to-back on penalties, following their MTN8 loss to Orlando Pirates with another cup game shootout loss to TS Galaxy.
This article was most recently revised and updated 11 months ago
