Black Leopards brushed aside Amavarara FC 2-0 in the Nedbank Cup Last 16 match at the Thohoyandou Stadium on Friday night.
The victory saw Lidoda Duvha become the first team to reach this season’s quarterfinals, while ABC Motsepe League side Amavarara was eliminated from the competition.
The hosts dominated the match from the start and they deservedly grabbed an early goal through Lesedi Kapinga in the ninth minute.
The attacking midfielder beat Amavarara goalkeeper Khanya Mini with a decent finish to make it 1-0 to Leopards.
Themba Ndlovu had a chance a to double Lidoda Duvha’s lead a few minutes later, but the attacker missed a sitter from close range.
However, Ndlovu made amends just before the half-hour mark when he beat Mini to make it 2-0 to Leopards with the visitors’ defence exposed.
Leopards were deservedly leading 2-0 at the interval after dominating the first-half.
Anele Thwani and Thandolwethu Dayimane were both introduced by Amavarara as they looked to pull one back in the second-half.
However, Leopards continued to attack and Thabo Matlaba had two great chances to extend the hosts’ lead, but he failed to hit the target.
Mini was called into action by Kapinga with 16 minutes left on the clock and the shot-stopper made a comfortable save from the attacker’s shot.
The visitors were struggling to contain Lidoda Duvha as Thobani Mncwango’s low shot narrowly missed the target with Mini rooted to the ground.
Premier Soccer League (PSL) side Leopards then held on to their two-goal lead in the closing stages of the match and they emerged 2-0 winners over Amavarara.
Leopards (2) 2 (Kapinga 9′, T.Ndlovu 26′)
Amavarara (0) 0
Leopards: Muleka, Mudau, Ndou, Douhadji (Katjiukua 60′), Matlaba (Ndawonde 86′), Abubakar, X. Ndlovu, T. Ndlovu (Mncwango 73′), Ng’ambi, Ngele, Kapinga.
Amavarara: Mini, Mzazi, Ntsane, Kelepu, Twani (Velaphi 72′), Maso, Mbenyane, Gxaba (Dayimane 50′), Gocina, Lafota, Tonisi (Thwani 48′).© Backpage TXT.
SOURCED FROM THE PSL WEBSITE.
