by
Graeme Jackson
Saturday Sep 09, 2017. 22:06
Welcome to as-it-happened coverage of the 2017 MTN8 semifinal, second leg match between Maritzburg United and SuperSport United from the Harry Gwala Stadium in Pietermaritzburg.
Commentary:
All times CAT
90+4' - Full time - Done and dusted, SuperSport are deserved 2-0 winners and advance into the MTN8 final! They will face either Bidvest Wits or Cape Town City, with those teams set to meet in Johannesburg on Sunday afternoon.
90' - There will be four minutes of added time.
86' - All the sting has gone out of the game now, SuperSport are very much in game management mode.
82' - The referee has also sent Maritzburg's physio to the stands. Not a great night for the Team of Choice...
80' - Maritzburg's final change sees Mxolisi Kunene replace Wiedlich.
79' - SuperSport's final change sees Kingston Nkhatha replace Brockie.
78' - Red card - Atouba with a blatant dive and he picks up his second yellow card! It's an early shower for the Cameroonian debutant!
75' - Sublime double save from Williams to deny Mekoa and Fileccia, and the flag was up anyway!
73' - Yellow card - Atouba cautioned for a shirt pull on Mokoena.
71' - Another SuperSport change sees Siyabonga Nhlapo replace Letsholonyane.
70' - Atouba shoots on goal but it's an easy save for Williams. It's looking like SuperSport's night, despite a much better second half showing from Maritzburg.
67' - SuperSport make their first change, with Sifiso Myeni replacing Grobler.
66' - Rusike with a sight of goal, but Daniels comes across to make a superb sliding challenge!
65' - Yellow card - Williams goes into the book for time wasting.
63' - Gould with a fine defensive header from a free kick. Maritzburg are turning the screw here, it seems only a matter of time until they get back in the game...
61' - Corner to Maritzburg, Atouba crosses but United defend well initially before a second ball into the box is claimed by Williams.
58' - Yellow card - Xulu booked for going straight though the back of Phala.
57' - Yellow card - Furman cautioned for hauling down Maboe.
56' - Rusike with a superb cross from the right, Fileccia can't finish from close range but he was offside anyway.
53' - A frantic start to the second half, with neither side able to settle down and get into rhythm.
50' - Fransman earns cheers from the home fans for a crunching, but fair tackle.
47' - Yellow card - Mekoa into the book for a late tackle in midfield.
46' - Back underway in the second half. Maritzburg have made a double change, swapping out Van Wyk and Shandu for Andrea Fileccia and Yazid Atouba.
45+2' - Half time - SuperSport well in control at 2-0 up! The Team of Choice will need to score at least three in the second half to keep their hopes of reaching the final alive.
44' - GOAL! Maritzburg 0-2 SuperSport - The visitors extend their lead and put one foot in the final! A quickly-taken free kick sees Kekana float a diagonal to the far post, Mokoena heads back across the face of goal and Brockie nets with another header!
41' - Makaringe with a snap shot from long range, but it's high and wide.
39' - Daniels with a chance to cross from the left, but his ball is cut out and cleared by Makaringe.
36' - Less than 10 minutes left in the first half, SuperSport will be happy with their work so far.
34' - Yellow card - Maritzburg's Ndlovu is lucky to get only a caution for a leg-breaker challenge on Kekana, who luckily doesn't seem to be seriously injured.
31' - SuperSport on a quick counter-attack, Letsholonyane picks out Phala, who turns and shoots just wide of the mark!
29' - Phala chips a cross to the back post, Brockie is completely unmarked, but he slices his volley off target! Great chance spurned by the away side!
28' - Mekoa gets a stern talking-to after tripping up Mokoena in midfield.
26' - Maritzburg building up a head of steam, but they have lacked composure and penetration in the final third. SuperSport's defence is yet to really be tested...
23' - Midway through the first half, SuperSport lead 1-0 on the night and 2-1 on aggregate.
20' - A good battle between Brockie and Xulu - the striker has got the better of it so far, having scored a fine opening goal.
17' - Gould with a lunging tackle that has the Maritzburg bench screaming, but the referee waves play-on. Now Shandu crosses from the left and it's just beyond the reach of Rusike, who would have had a tap-in!
16' - Matsatsantsa have cancelled out Maritzburg's away goal and lead 2-1 on aggregate.
14' - GOAL! Maritzburg 0-1 SuperSport - SuperSport claim a deserved lead, with Modiba crossing from the left by-line to find Brockie, whose header has just enough pace to beat Mpandle!
11' - An unconvincing punch from Mpandle at a SuperSport corner kick and it ends with Brockie slicing an effort off target.
9' - Van Wyk plays a wonderful pass to put Shandu free down the right, but his attempted cross is sliced high and wide.
8' - Van Wyk cuts in from the right and lets fly with his left, but the long-range effort drifts wide of the target.
6' - SuperSport looking to play it wide and cross whenever they get the chance, while Rusike looks to use his pace for the hosts but is soon crowded out by red shirts.
3' - The first chance of the match goes the way of SuperSport, with Grobler getting on the end of Modiba's cross and heading just wide of Mpandle's right-hand post!
1' - Kick-off - We are underway in Pietermaritzburg! Maritzburg wear blue and white, while SuperSport are in a change strip of red.
20h10 - Five minutes to kick-off. Victor Hlungwani is our referee for this match.
19h55 - A reminder of where we stand in this tie: the first leg at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on 26 August finished 1-1, with Thuso Phala putting SuperSport ahead before Lebohang Maboe scored a late equaliser. As a result, Maritzburg need only keep a clean sheet to book their place in the final.
19h45 - Half an hour to kick-off, here are the starting line-ups:
Maritzburg: Bongani Mpandle, Bevan Fransman, Siyanda Xulu, Dennis Wiedlich , Siphesihle Ndlovu, Bandile Shandu, Fortune Makaringe, Lebohang Maboe, Sheldon Van Wyk, Deolin Mekoa, Evans Rusike
SuperSport: Ronwen Williams, Clayton Daniels, Morgan Gould, Aubrey Modiba, Grant Kekana, Reneilwe Letsholonyane, Teboho Mokoena , Thuso Phala, Dean Furman, Bradley Grobler, Jeremy Brockie
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