Zakhele Lepasa, TS Galaxy, April 2019

Golden Arrows 1-3 TS Galaxy: Dan Malesela's charges stun Abafana Bes'thende to reach Nedbank Cup final

TS Galaxy defeated  Golden Arrows 2-1 in the semi-finals of the Nedbank Cup on Saturday afternoon at Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium.

Abafana Bes'thende were looking to end their 10-year trophy drought since winning the MTN8 Cup during the 2009/10 season.

On the other hand, National First Division (NFD) outfit Galaxy came to the clash hoping to secure their first ever cup final appearance.

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Neither side could break the deadlock in the first half, but Arrows were the better side after the restart with coach Steve Komphela having introduced Wayde Jooste for Siyabonga Dube.

The hosts took the lead in the 69th minute after they were awarded a penalty when Sanele Mathenjwa was fouled in the box and Knox Mutizwa converted from the spot making it 1-0 to Arrows with 20 minutes left.

Galaxy probbed for the equalizing goal and  they were awarded a set piece in a promising area, but the effort from the set-piece hit the wall.

Zakhele Lepasa would break free in the box in the 85th minute, but the Galaxy striker rushed his effort which was easily gathered by Maximillian Mbaeva.

In the dying stages of the contest, Mutizwa outpaced the visiting defence and nearly scored his brace, but his effort hit the woodwork with Mpakumpaku beaten.

Just after Mutizwa’s miss, Sandile Zuke scored an own goal as he attempted to head the ball away from the box forcing the clash into extra-time.

Galaxy looked dangerous in the opening half of extra time as they made great touches in the final third, but they could not beat Mbaeva.

However, the visitors managed to grab their second in the second half of extra-time through Lepasa , who scored with a superb finish.

The Orlando Pirates loanee then sealed Galaxy's suprise 3-1 win over Arrows the closing stages of extra-time with the hosts' defence exposed.

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