Chippa stun Sundowns to reach TKO quarters
Chippa United recorded their first-ever victory in the Telkom Knockout by beating Mamelodi Sundowns 1-0 at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium on Sunday.
Zitha Macheke of Chippa United threatens watched by Denis Onyango of Mamelodi Sundowns and Percy Tau of Mamelodi Sundowns during the2017 Telkom Knockout game between Chippa United and Mamelodi Sundowns at Sisa Dukashe Stadium in East London on 29 October 2017 © Deryck Foster/BackpagePix
Coming into the last-16 fixture, Downs coach Pitso Mosimane denied any state of panic in his squad.
Dumped out early of the MTN8, a quarter-final defeat in the CAF Champions League and an indifferent start to the league campaign has seen fans and media question the state of the Brazilians.
And Chippa’s Teboho Moloi set his side up to compound even more misery on the weary-looking Downs with a high intensity but structured tactical set-up.
With the Chilli Boys allowing Masandawana to have possession of the ball, their best chance of the fixture came in the 10th minute as Thokozani Sekotlong raced clear of the high line of defence but was stopped in his tracks by goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi.
The former Free State Stars forward injured his knee in the process and had to leave the field of play for George Lebese, who was unable to offer Mosimane the presence needed upfront.
Having failed to beat the Tshwane giants in 12 previous attempts it was ironic that a former Downs youth product would be the man to break the unwanted record, as Julies proved to be an inspired substitution in the second half.
And it would prove to be one of the goals of the tournament as Akpeyi started the move from a short throw to his defender, which resulted in a slick passing move inspired by Paseka Mako and Julies was at hand to finish it off at the back post beyond Dennis Onyango.
Lebese was later substituted for Leonardo Castro but the visitors were totally ineffective against the organised Chippa back-four.
The result sees Chippa face Kaizer Chiefs in the quarter-finals, while Sundowns suffered their third consecutive defeat in all competitions.
