Mamelodi Sundowns secured a historic treble after beating Marumo Gallants 2-1 after extra time in the Nedbank Cup final at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium on Saturday evening.
Gallants came into the game with relatively less pressure as major underdogs in their first season of existence since the rebranding of TTM and having already secured their place in the 2022/23 CAF Confederation Cup by virtue of being finalists in the prestigious competition.
Sundowns, meanwhile, came in on the hunt of a historic treble after securing the MTN8 and the DStv Premiership – and it’s something the technical team stated was necessary to make up for the CAF Champions League failure this season.
Gallants and Sundowns both showed plenty of attacking endevour early on, with Dan Malesela’s side having an early penalty shout while Gaston Sirino saw a goal ruled out after being adjudged to have fouled his marker.
It end up being no surprise though as who the goalscorer was, when Lesley Manyathela Golden Boot winner Peter Shalulile hit the back of Washington Arubi’s net in the 32nd minute – which marked his 30th goal across all competitions in the 2021/22 campaign.
Peter Shalulile opens scoring.
🇿🇦 #NedbankCupFinal pic.twitter.com/Xp4xLVY7xj
— Lorenz Köhler (@Lorenz_KO) May 28, 2022
The arena in Rustenburg, which is said to have been at the maximum 50% capacity, with around 20,000 thousand fans, or more… were sent into overdrive in what was arguably the best atmosphere at a local fixture since the return of fans in Mzansi.
But the only other notable feature of the opening half was Brian Onyango being forced off through injury with Mosa Lebusa slotting in as his replacement to good effect to keep the score at 1-0 going into the break.
Sundowns looked to contain Gallants in the second half, who they knew were ready to take the game to them and managed to limit them to just long range efforts which rarely caused Kennedy Mweene issues.
Malesela’s side kept on pilling on the pressure and were rewarded for their efforts in the 75th minute when Sede Junior Dion headed home from close range, two minutes after coming off the bench.
Was it offside? 🤔#NedbankCupFinal pic.twitter.com/OXHuyJrfp3
— iDiski Times (@iDiskiTimes) May 28, 2022
Katlego Otladisa went close with an audacious long range attempt in the 80th minute, with Kennedy Mweene in no man’s land. The Sundowns players were livid as they felt the Zambian had been fouled after an earlier clearance.
The two teams couldn’t be separated in 90 minutes and the game went into extra-time, where Lyle Lakay had a notable chance from a free-kick close to the edge of the box, but his shot flew over the target.
Gallants were reduced to 10 men in the 111th minute after Ndlondlo received his second yellow card of the game for a late challenge. Just a minute later, Shalulile had a chance to make it 2-1, but his header was saved by Arubi.
Downs found a winner in the 129th minute when Thapelo Morena was at end of a fine passing move.
