Stellenbosch FC advanced to the Round of 16 of the Nedbank Cup this week, following a nervy 4-3 penalty shootout victory over Motsepe Foundation Championship outfit Pretoria Callies at the Danie Craven Stadium on Friday night.
With the scores level at 1-1 during regulation time, goalkeeper Oscarine Masuluke pulled off two top drawer saves to guide Stellies to victory on home soil.
After a bright start from the home side, the Cape Winelands side bossed the possession count during the first 10 minutes of the encounter. Probing away, the likes of Jayden Adams and Sihle Nduli ran the show in the middle of the park as they pushed the away side back onto the edge of their own area.
Pretoria Callies found themselves doing defensive work for much of the opening 20 minutes while the hosts continued to ask questions when driving the ball forward.
Devon Titus and Iqraam Rayners proved to be the attackers-in-chief for Stellenbosch on the evening and kept the Callies defenders busy all the way to the halftime break.
It was much of the same for Stellenbosch as the second-half was introduced by the man in the middle as Steve Barker’s side gained control of the ball early on.
Stellies continued to put Pretoria Callies under immense pressure toward the hour-mark, which eventually paid off in the 66th minute of the encounter. After popping up in the right place at the right time, Devin Titus’ right-footed shot from the centre of the goal found the back of the net, as Fawaaz Basadien jotted his name down in the assist column.
The traveling outfit rang in the changes with 15 minutes left on the clock and looked a much better side toward the end of the match. Pretoria Callies were then awarded a lifeline in the 87th minute as Leandro De Sousa joined Titus on the scoreboard.
After latching onto the ball inside the Stellies area, the midfielder made no mistake from close range as the game was forced into extra time.
With neither side able to break the deadlock during the extra-time period, penalties were then needed to separate the two sides in the Western Cape. Masuluke proved to be the hero for Stellies during the shootout and managed to pull off two telling saves that guided Stellies to a 4-3 victory via spot kicks.