Mamelodi Sundowns are out of the Nedbank Cup after being eliminated by TS Galaxy during their Round of 16 clash in front of a packed Solomon Mahlangu Stadium in KwaMhlanga, Mpumalanga, on Saturday.
Galaxy got the job done in the first half, with goals from teenager Sphamandla Ngwenya and Junior Zindonga enough to send them through to the quarterfinals of the Ke Yona cup competition, to join AmaZulu.
Playing in front of a sold-out crowd, Galaxy could not have asked for a better start when 19-year-old Ngwenya opened the scoring 18 minutes into the game after capitalising on a defensive blunder when Divine Lunga’s tame pass to Marcelo Allende fell on the path of the 19-year-old, who picked his spot and made no mistake against veteran goalkeeper Denis Onyango.
Matters got worse for the Brazilians, as Galaxy netted the second from the penalty spot through Zindonga, after young Thato Sibiya brought down Seluleko Mahlambi with a reckless challenge inside the box. Sundowns went into the break trailing and left with a mountain to climb in the second half.
Miguel Cardoso made an instant reaction and made three straight substitutions – introducing Thapelo Morena, Tashreeq Matthews, and goal-scoring machine Brayan Leon. Making way for the trio: Kutlwano Lethlaku, Katlego Ntsabeleng, and Sibiya.
The Sundowns subs came on and changed the game, creating numerous goal-scoring opportunities, with Galaxy shotstopper Ira Tape pulling off some big man-of-the-match-worthy saves that kept his side in the game and walked out victorious with a memorable victory.
