Mamelodi Sundowns won their first Carling Cup title after convincingly hammering 10-man Orlando Pirates 4-0 in the final at FNB Stadium in Soweto on Saturday evening.
The Tshwane giants scored a total of 7 goals in two games as they thrashed AmaZulu 3-0 in the semifinal in the morning. Sundowns defence was rock-solid, as they didn’t concede any goal.
Pirates beat rivals Kaizer 6-5 on penalties following a 0-0 after 90 minutes to reach the final.
It was the first edition of the Carling Cup with four teams as originally it was a tie between Chiefs and Pirates with the fans voting for their favourite stars to play.
Highly rated 21-year-old Cassius Mailula came off the bench to replace the injured Haashim Domingo in the 25th minute and scored a brace.
The final got underway in front of over 60 000 spectators, with Sundowns already threatening the Pirates’ goal as Bradley Ralani was denied by Siyabonga Mpontshane just before the 10th-minute mark.
Sundowns enjoyed most of the possession and territorial dominance.
As a result of frustration of some sort, Pirates got reduced to 10 men as Tapelo Xoki was sent off for a dangerous challenge on Domingo just after the 20th minute of the game.
MAILULA SCORES BRACE
With Xoki walking to take an early shower, Pirates striker Kermit Erasmus and Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena had a go at each other on the touchline with a few words exchanged in an unpleasant matter.
The one-man advantage Sundowns quickly showed as Sphelele Mkhulise scored the opening goal of the final in the 23rd minute.
Buccaneers came alive, looking to respond immediately as Ben Motshwari went for goal with a shot from range, but his effort drifted slightly wide of Denis Onyango’s post.
Two minutes later, Bienvenu Eva Nga played in a square the ball in the direction of Deon Hotto, who was beaten to it by Sundowna goalkeeper Onyango.
The momentum swung in Sundowns’ favour again as Grant Kekana made it 2-0 in the 33rd minute.
And it only took the DStv Premiership 60 seconds to score the third goal through youngster Mailula.
Pirates went into the break on the back foot, and Sundowns started the second half with the same intensity of the first 45.
And Mailula completed his brace with a beautifully taken strike in the 67th minute of the encounter.
That marked the last real action of the game as Sundowns lifted the Beer Cup for the first time. Pirates never looked like scoring as the Brazilians kept possession until the final whistle was blown.
Kaizer Chiefs clinched third place after beating AmaZulu 4-2 in a penalty shootout for the third/fourth-place finish.
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