Richards Bay FC eliminated Cape Town City FC from the quarter-finals of the 2024 Carling Knockout Cup with a 5-4 win on penalties at the King Zwelithini Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The match ended goalless in regulation time after both sides failed to be clinical in front of goals. City and Richards Bay came into the Knockout Cup looking to bounce back from their respective defeats in the Betway Premiership midweek.
The Citizens lost 3-0 against Mamelodi Sundowns at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, while Bay were beaten 2-0 by Sekhukhune United at Peter Mokaba Stadium.
In the league, both sides have had a slow start to the 2024/25 season as they occupy 12th and 13th place, tied on five points after six matches played.
Meanwhile, in the round of 16 of the CKO, Cape Town City defeated Royal AM 3-0 at Athlone Stadium while Bay claimed a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Sekhukhune United.
The first quarter-final fixture of the weekend between Richards Bay and Cape Town started slowly, with both sides struggling to create goal-scoring opportunities.
RICHARDS BAY GAINED MOMENTUM IN SEARCH FOR AN OPENING GOAL
As the match progressed, the KZN-based outfit gained momentum to search for an opening goal. However, City stood firm in defence. The match went into half-time with a 0-0 scoreline.
The Natal Rich Boys continued to dominate in the second half with promising attacks, but they were let down by misplaced passes in the final third.
City had a golden opportunity to open the scoring in the 63rd minute when Amadou Soukouna made a good run into the Bay’s penalty box, but he was denied a goal by the goalkeeper Ian Otieno.
In a move to push for a late goal, Richards Bay brought in their towering forward Somila Ntsundwana in place of Thulani Gumede in the 73rd minute.
The referee blew the full-time whistle with the scoreline at 0-0 to take the match into extra time. After 120 minutes of football without finding the back of the net, the game went into the penalty shootout.
Bay beat Cape Town City 5-4 on penalties in the quarter-finals, booking a spot in the semi-finals of the Carling Knockout Cup.
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