Soccer
Celtic send Sundowns packing─── 08:49 Thu, 06 Aug 2015
Bloemfontein Celtic are through to the MTN 8 semi-finals after knocking Mamelodi Sundowns out of the competition.
Celtic beat the Brazilians on penalties in Chloorkop last night after having to come from behind to equalise in extra-time.
Abdoul Razak scored for Sundowns in the 104th minute of the match, but it was Musa Bilankulu who proved to be the hero for Phunya Sele Sele after finding the back of the net in the 117th minute with a header from a well-executed free kick.
The match went into a penalty shoot-out which Celtic won 4-2 after goalkeeper Patrick Tignyemb saved a shot, before the Kennedy Mweene missed his attempt.
Captain Bevan Fransman stepped up to score the winner for Celtic to advance to the semis.
Coach Clinton Larsen lauded his character to beat Sundowns away from home.
“We knew that good organisation today was going to be the order of the day.
“I thought in the first half they had a lot of ball in the middle third, but they didn’t really hurt us, except for twice when they got into the box.
“We didn’t really play at all in the first half, but we regrouped and came out a lot stronger.
“I thought the three substitutes had an impact in the second half…Zuma, Ntanga as well as Lyle Lackay and once again the never-say-die attitude came to the fore and I’m very happy with the boys.
In last night’s other game, PSL champions Kaizer Chiefs advanced after beating Martizburg United 5-3 in a match which also went into extra-time.
Celtic face Polokwane City on Saturday at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in theie 2015/16 PSL opener, with kick-off at 15:00.
Morgan Piek /OFM News
