Five things we learned from MTN8 this weekend
Mamelodi Sundowns were the biggest casualty in the first round of the MTN8 this past weekend.
Steve Komphela, Rulani Mokwena and Manqoba Mnqgithi during the MTN8 quarter final between Mamelodi Sundowns and Bloemfontein Celtic at the Moripe Stadium.(Photo by Samuel Shivambu/ Backpagepix/ Gallo Images)
The Brazilians went down 1-0 at home to Bloemfontein Celtic as Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates march on to the semifinals.
Here are the five things we learned from the MTN8 this past weekend:
Positive start for Hunt at Chiefs
Gavin Hunt began his tenure as Chiefs coach with a hard fought 2-1 win over Maritzburg United at home on Sunday afternoon. It was indeed a hard win from Amakhosi as they had to come back from a Thabiso Kutumela goal, with defender Yagan Sasman scoring a brace for Amakhosi in a space of two minutes to make sure that his team goes through to the next round. The Team of Choice wasted many chances to kill off the game in the first half.
No happy beginnings for the three ‘musketeers’ at Sundowns
With Hunt starting on a positive note at Chiefs, there was no such bright start to the the new look Mamelodi Sundowns technical team of Manqoba Mngqithi, Rulani Mokwena and Steve Komphela as the Brazilians went down 1-0 to Siwelele at home. Victor Letsoalo scored the only goal of the match to make sure that Siwelele reach the semifinals where they’ll meet SuperSport United.
Jele benched, Hlatshwayo lead Pirates to victory
Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer caused a bit of a stir when he benched club captain Happy Jele and gave the captaincy armband to Thulani Hlatshwayo, who was making his debut for the Buccaneers. The move paid off somehow as Pirates were able to keep a clean sheet and won the game 1-0 against Cape Town City. Hlatshwayo was also unlucky not to register his name in the scoresheet as his 49th minute goal was disallowed for a foul in the box.
Tshakhuma in shambles as Ngele shows his class
Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila’s bad preparations for the MTN8 proved to be their downfall in their 3-2 loss to SuperSport United on Saturday. Vhadau Vha Damani found themselves trailing the match by three goals to nil inside the first 35 minutes of the game. New signing Mogakolodi Ngele’s brace, however, made the scoreline to look respectable in the end.
Double dose of Soweto derbies
Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates were drawn against each other in the semifinals draw conducted on Sunday evening. This means that the Soweto rivals will meet each other twice in a short space of time as the MTN8 semis are played over two legs. The winner of this match will meet SuperSport United or Bloemfontein Celtic in the final.
For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.
