Motsepe Foundation Championship side Casric Stars have caused a major upset after defeating AmaZulu FC 2-1 in the quarter-final of the Nedbank Cup at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday, while Sekhukhune United fell short against Milford FC.
Casric dumped AmaZulu out of the Nedbank Cup with a hard-fought victory in extra-time to advance to the semi-final, becoming the first team to book a place in the Last four of the competition.
The Mpumalanga-based side are continuing their status of giant slayers having knocked Orlando Pirates out of the Last cup in the Nedbank Cup a few weeks ago. During the match against AmaZulu, Casric imposed themselves, playing with intent and a fearless mentality.
The NFD team opened the scoring in the 12th minute with a goal from Mfundo Thikazi to unsettle the home side early in the first-half. Stars proved to be compact at the back, preventing AmaZulu from finding the back as they went into the half-time break leading 1-0.
Usuthu shifted the gears in the second stanza to bring the scoreline back to level terms with a goal from the highly-rated attacker Pule Ekstein. The match finished in 90 minutes, deadlocked at 1-1, a draw to go into the extra-time.
CASRIC SECURE A PLACE ON THE NEDBANK CUP SEMI-FINAL
Stars hit AmaZulu with a killer blow after scoring the all-important goal in the extra-time book a place in the semi-final of the Nedbank Cup that there for the taking after the elimination of big guns, Mamelodi Sundowns, Kaizer Chiefs, and Orlando Pirates.
In another match on Saturday featuring the Betway Premiership team and NFD side, Sekhukhune United hosted Milford FC at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium.
Sekhukhune United became another top division team to crash out of the Nedbank Cup quarter-final after suffering a disappointing defeat on penalties against Milford FC.
Milford forced Babina Noko into the extra-time after playing to a 1-1 draw in regulation time. The KZN-based side drew the first blood in the 2nd minute to take a 1-0 lead. Sekhukhune scored an equalising goal courtesy of Bradley Mojela and finished the match at 1-1 to go into extra-time.
The Limpopo-based outfit took the lead in the second-half of the extra-time after netting a second goal with a strike from Olerato Mandi. With a few minutes left before the end of the match, Milford scored a late goal to force the match into a penalty shootout. Milford claimed a 3-2 win against Sekhukhune on penalties to join fellow second division team, Casric Stars in the semi-final.
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