Captain Siphamandla Ncanana led his Durban City team to a maiden Nedbank Cup final appearance with victory over Casric Stars in their semi-final at Chatsworth Stadium in Durban on Saturday afternoon.
Image: BackpagePix
Durban City (1) 1
Casric Stars (0) 0
Durban City ended the fairytale Nedbank Cup run of Motsepe Foundation Championship giant-killers Casric Stars with a 1-0 victory at Chatsworth Stadium on Saturday afternoon to book their place in the final of South Africa’s premier cup competition for the first time.
Pitso Dladla’s Citizens extended their impressive unbeaten home run this year — a streak that has helped lift them to fifth in the Betway Premiership — thanks to an early own goal from the promotion-chasing visitors, who had already accounted for Orlando Pirates and AmaZulu en route to the semi-finals.
City started on the front foot, surging forward in numbers in a high-tempo opening spell. Their pressure paid off in the sixth minute when Sphamandla Mlilo turned the ball into his own net. It could easily have been two or three, such was the hosts’ early dominance.
Hasheem Domingo and Thabo Nodada dictated play in midfield, ensuring City maintained control, while Stars were largely restricted to counter-attacks and struggled to create clear chances. Goalkeeper Darren Keet was a spectator for much of the opening half-hour.
Casric did, however, show glimpses of danger as Decide Chauke flashed a header across goal, signalling a shift as Joseph Mthombeni’s side began to grow into the contest.
City had a golden chance to double their lead five minutes before the break, but Jean Lubumba missed from close range. Stars finished the half stronger, forcing City into a series of last-ditch interventions to protect their slender advantage.
The visitors carried that momentum into the second half, but City captain Siphamandla Ncacana marshalled his defence superbly. Keet was finally called into action in the 67th minute, producing a fine save to deny Stars after they carved open the City backline.
As the match wore on, Casric pushed higher up the pitch, pinning City back and increasing the pressure. The hosts nearly grabbed a fortunate second when Lifa Makua’s attempted clearance clipped the top of his own crossbar.
Chauke continued to threaten, sending another effort across the face of goal, while City right-back Emmanuel Jalai made a crucial block to deny a goal-bound strike. At the other end, substitute Trevor Mokwena squandered a promising opportunity after miscontrolling a well-weighted pass with the goal at his mercy.
Despite a tense and open finish, neither side could find another breakthrough as Durban City held firm to seal a famous victory and march into their first Nedbank Cup final.