Mntambo Brace Secures Sekhukhune Narrow Win Over Milford To Set Up Quarter-final Clash With Sundowns

SEKHUKHUNE UNITED held on for dear life to book their place in the Nedbank Cup quarter-finals against Mamelodi Sundowns with a 2-1 victory over Motsepe Foundation side Milford FC in KwaMashu yesterday.

Captain Linda Mntambo scored a first-half brace, which gave hopes of a smooth sailing into the last eight for Ba Bina Noko. However, the Stallions pulled one back just before the break through Menzi Chilli, forcing the elite league side to fight a rearguard battle for most of the second half.

Badra Sangar, the Ivorian goalkeeper, came on for Namibian Lloydt Kazapua and had to put his international experience to great use as the lower-division outfit threw everything but the proverbial kitchen sink at Sekhukhune in an attempt to at least force the match into extra time.

Five times in the final five minutes, Sangar was called upon to rescue Lehlohonolo Seemas men. His fisted shots were sent over for corner kicks, and he clung onto others, justifying the coachs decision to bring him on.

Kazapua had literally given Milford a lifeline when it had appeared Mntambo had set Sekhukhune up for the equivalent of a stroll in the park. The Brave Warriors goalkeeper looked to have made a routine catch from a corner kick three minutes before the break. But as he descended from his leap, he allowed the ball to slip out of his hands, and Chilli gleefully slotted it home.