BAROKA BEAT THE DEFENDING CHAMPS
A solitary goal courtesy of Talent Chawapihwa was enough for Baroka FC to beat Cape Town City 1-0 in a Telkom Knockout Last 16 clash at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The win sees the Polokwane-based outfit joining Platinum Stars, Bidvest Wits, Polokwane City, Bloemfontein Celtic, Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Chippa United in the quarterfinals.
The Cape Town-based side had a bright start, but it was goalkeeper Sage Stephens who produced a fine save in the eighth minute to keep the scores at 0-0 to deny Mzwanele Mahashe from close range.
However, Baorka’s Virgil Vries also showed his quality two minutes later to punch Ayanda Patosi’s long range effort over the cross bar for a corner.
The Bakgaga Ba Mphahlele displayed good moves to break the deadlock as Chawapiwa produced a thunderous left-footed shot on the edge of the area to beat Stephens in the 16th minute.
Baroka nearly doubled their lead when Mahashe was denied by the woodwork in the 22nd minute after a well-drilled header which came from a corner kick.
Despite their dominance towards the final stages of the encounter, the defeding champions could not utilise their chances upfront and it was 1-0 at halftime.
City emerged from the tunnel with more purpose, yet they could not penetrate the hosts defence.
Substitute Robin Ngalande nearly made an immediate impact in the 64th minute when he received a pass in the box, but the Malawian could not lower his effort.
Gift Motupa showed his class as he beat Robyn Johannes on the right flank shortly after that, only to waste a brilliant effort in the box with only Stephens to beat
With three minutes to go, coach Kgoloko Thobejane’s side was put under pressure when Obinna broke free in the box, yet his shot went straight to Vries who held on.
Despite intensifying their search for a goal, Benni McCarthy’s side was not clinical upfront and exited the tournament at the first hurdle.
Baroka FC: (1) 1 (Chawapihwa 16′)
Cape Town City: (0)
Baroka: Vries, Mahashe, Motupa, Kgoetyane, Madubanya, Mothupa, Chawapihwa (Matloga 78′), Shaku, Moeti, Sidumo (Ngalande 62′), Mdantsane
Cape Town City: Stephens, Mkhize, Gumede , Johannes, Edmilson, Nodada, Putsche (Martin 70′), Patosi (Fielies 81′), Masina (Modise 58′), Lakay, Obinna
