Stellenbosch land blow with first leg MTN8 semi win against Sundowns

It was a typical cup tie in which both teams mostly erred on the side of caution and it was no surprise that it ended with one goal on the scoreboard.

Stellenbosch emerged 1-0 winners over Mamelodi Sundowns in the first leg at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Wednesday night to take the lead in their MTN8 semifinal, which will be settled in the second leg at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Sunday.

The advantage is firmly with Stellies as the 61st-minute penalty that was converted by in-demand defender Fawaaz Basadien gave them the away goal that may prove crucial at the weekend.

But there was a solid shift from goalkeeper Sage Stephens who made a number of stunning saves throughout the match to keep Stellenbosch in the match and deny Sundowns' attackers.

Downs will have to regroup and fight for a favourable result to turn this result around at the weekend and force their way into the final against the winner of the other semifinal between Orlando Pirates and Cape Town City, which is tantalisingly level at 1-1.

Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi made two changes to the team that beat Polokwane City in the opening round with goalkeeper Jody February replacing Denis Onyango and defender Grant Kekana coming in for Rivaldo Coetzee.

Visiting coach Steve Barker made four changes to the team that thrashed Eswatini side Nsingizini Hotspur 5-0 in the Confederation Cup preliminary stage second leg last weekend.

Athenkosi Mcaba came in for Liam de Kock, Devin Titus replaced Sanele Barnes, Ebraheem Jabaar was preferred to Langelihle Phili and Jayden Adans took the place of Genino Palace.

The game’s first clear chance arrived after 36 minutes when Peter Shalulile’s close-range shot was parried away for safety by Sage Stephens and the ball landed on the crossbar a few moments later.

There were two clear-cut opportunities from both sides immediately after the break, starting with Aubrey Modiba’s thunderous left-footed shot clipping the crossbar with Stephens beaten.

Then Titus saw his clever curling shot from the outside the boot go just wide of February’s upright.

There was a moment of drama in the 58th minute when referee Thokozani Mkhize awarded Stellenbosch a penalty after Grant Kekana hacked Titus in the box — despite fierce protests from Sundowns' players.

Basadien showed nerves of steel to stand up and send February the wrong way as Stellenbosch took the important lead.

To try to catch up with the game, Mngqithi and his technical team rang changes, the most notable one the introduction of talismanic midfielder Themba Zwane for Modiba in the 72nd.

Zwane made an immediate impact as his introduction injected some life into Sundowns as they began to attack the Stellenbosch defence but they could not find the way past Stephens and his back four.