SOCCER: Wits in Nedbank Cup quarter finals
Gavin Hunt’s men secured a 2-0 victory over Chippa United in the Nedbank Cup round of 16.
Wits fixes gaze on the double
A penalty shootout was needed to send the Clever Boys through in the Nedbank Cup with second-string keeper Ricardo Goss the hero. (more…)
Wits strolls into Nedbank Cup last-16
Ruthless Clever Boys send Boyne Tigers home with nothing after a 4-0 drubbing
Bidvest’s Keegan Ritchie gives a Tiger player a tough time on the home pitch. Photo: Phumi Ramalepe
By: Phumi Ramalepe
Bidvest Wits secured their spot in the Last 16 after beating the amateur Boyne Tigers 4-0 in the Nedbank Cup’s Last 32 match at Bidvest stadium on the evening.
Relentless showers of rain and slippery grass presented no challenge to Wits’ Haashim Domingo who scored the team’s first goal in the 11th minute.
Less than ten minutes later, Scottish striker Simon Murray dribbled past the Tigers and passed the ball to Domingo who secured the second goal.
The unmerciful Clever Boys gave the timid Tigers a tough time on the pitch by dominating their weak defence. Murray scored the third goal in the 20th minute. The fourth goal was bagged by Murray again in the 38th minute.
The striker was happy to have contributed to all four goals in the match. “You never know with an unknown team what you’re gonna get but it’s nice to contribute all four goals for the team. We got into the next round and hopefully we can make it to the finals”, he said to Wits Vuvuzela.
The Tigers returned with force in the second half trying to secure a goal, but were not successful, in spite of Bidvest not scoring any more goals in the second half.
Bidvest Wits coach Gavin Hunt told Wits Vuvuzela that he was impressed with the Boys’ performance.
“The performance was good and we in the 16. We’ll see how far we can go and take it from there. We obviously expect to win the Nedbank Cup,” he said.
A Wits supporter, Henrie Brownliy, thought the game was a breeze for the Clever Boys. “We don’t know the team really… so I think we had to suss them out in the first ten minutes. We put pressure on them… after that it was like a walk in the park,” he said. With a smile on his face, Brownliy added that “I think what’s important is the win.”
Bidvest Wits will be going head-to-head against Maritzburg United at the Bidvest Stadium on Friday, February 1, at 20:00 in the Premier Soccer League.
Bidvest Wits through to the quarterfinals of the Nedbank Cup
Nqobile Dludla and Boipelo Boikhutso
FROM ZEROS TO HEROS: Henrico Botes (on the floor) scored the ultimate final goal, sending The Clever Boys to the quarterfinal of the Nedbank Cup with 3 goals. Photo: Nqobile Dludla
Bidvest Wits are through to the quarterfinals of the Nedbank Cup after defeating University of Pretoria (AmaTuks), 3-0 at the Bidvest Stadium on Tuesday night.
The opening goal came from Dutchman Cornelis Kwakman in the 39th minute who landed a lead goal at the back of the net from a set-piece. Sibusiso Vilakazi came in the 56th minute and doubled their lead when he dribbled past Grant Kekana and shot past Washington Arubi.
Striker Henrico Botes added a goal in the 63rd minute after receiving a pass from Ben Motshwari.
Commenting on the first goal scored by Kwakman, Bidvest Wits coach Gavin Hunt said “It broke the ice” for the game as both sides tried to break the deadlock in the opening minutes of the game.
“It was a hell of a goal wasn’t it? Jeez I mean he scored three goals and couple of weeks ago he scored one just like that. Fantastic goal!”, said Hunt.
Although The Clever Boys managed to break the deadlock, Hunt said the first half was “edgy” in terms of performance.
“We couldn’t get our passes and our movement and synchronization going. But we got much better in the second half as the game went on. We just lack a little bit of confidence, I guess after last week. All in all it was a great performance in the second half,” said Hunt.
Hunt hopes that his team maintains better “consistency” in the next games after suffering back-to-back Absa Premiership League defeats in recent games.
“I know the potential in the team. I mean from Tuesday to Tuesday we went from heros to zeros because we beat Sundowns and then we lost two games and then we won again,” added Hunt.
The opening proved to be difficult as both sides were determined to break the deadlock. The first chance for Bidvest Wits came after just 20 minutes when Sibusiso Vilakazi passed a promising shot to Papy Faty whose attempt went over the post.
AmaTuks tried to score straight after but Moeneeb Josephs was too quick for Geofrey Massa’s header.
The Clever Boys, who fielded the 16-year-old Liam Jordan last night, managed to hold on to their lead and secured themselves a place in the quarterfinals.
Post-match interview with AmaTuks coach Sammy Troughton
SOCCER: Clever Boys defeat Kaizer Chiefs in epic semi-final
TIGHT BATTLE: The Clever Boys captain, Sibusiso Vilakazi, gets chased by Kaizer Chiefs defender Erik Mathoho in a tense match at Bidvest Stadium. Photo: Luca Kotton
The Clever Boys are into the Nedbank Cup final with a resounding victory over Kaizer Chiefs on home turf earlier this afternoon.
The semi-final clash ended on equal terms (2-2) after extra time but Wits overcame the AmaKhosi 4-2 on penalties to win the tightly contested match at the Bidvest Stadium.
The first half of the match saw both teams return to the dressing room with a goal a piece. The Clever Boys broke the deadlock with captain Sibusiso Vilakazi netting a penalty past Chiefs captain, Itumeleng Khune.
Shortly after, another penalty was awarded, this time in Chief’s favour, with striker, Katlego Mphela, netting the equaliser.
Wits started the second half strongly with an early goal by ex- Chiefs striker, Amos Ngcobo. This was cancelled out by an easy tap in from George Maluleka after some good work by Kingston Nkhata, who was booed the during the entire match by his own supporters.
The first half of extra time held nothing exciting with both teams taking a cautious approach. The second half though saw pressure from Kaizer Chiefs, which saw them hitting the post in the first few seconds. Wits rarely troubled Chiefs in the last few minutes as the score held out to go into penalties.
Wits sealed the win by netting every one of their four penalties. Chiefs though, had failed to score two of their penalties with a miss by the iconic Siphiwe Tshabalala. Wits’ Moeneeb Joseph also managed a save against Reneilwe Letsholonyane.
Clever Boys coach, Gavin Hunt, was delighted by the victory and at the prospect of playing in a big final. Speaking exclusively to Wits Vuvuzela after the match, Hunt said, “it’s going to be a hell of a game whoever we play, where we play is going to big thing because the venue is always important.”
Wits will face the winners of the Orlando Pirates/Maritzburg United match later tonight at the Harry Gwala Stadium.
The date and venue of the game is yet to be decided and will be announced after the conclusion of the second semi-final later this evening.
SOCCER: Wits Clever Boys and Pirates in stalemate
AGGRESSIVE AFFAIR : Wits and Pirates players enter into a scuffle over a bad challenge on a Clever Boys player in the second half. Photo: Luca Kotton
The Clever Boys battled hard against Orlando Pirates in their Premier Soccer league game on Wednesday night, finishing the game in a 0-0 draw at the Bidvest Stadium.
Bidvest Wits continued their unbeaten run in the league with a third consecutive goalless draw, which sees them without a goal in over 270 minutes of playing time.
The game consisted of both teams missing key goal-scoring opportunities and was marred by consistent foul play from both sides.
Play was interrupted at one point with what looked like a serious injury to Burundian international Papy Faty. Faty was taken to hospital with suspected torn ligaments and a dislocated knee. He looks set to miss his team’s Nedbank Cup semi-final clash against Kaizer Chiefs on Saturday
Sibusiso Vilakazi,the Clever Boys captain, sat on the bench for the duration of the game as Wits seemed to have rested key players for the clash on Saturday.
Kaizer Chiefs also shared the spoils with Free State Stars on Wednesday evening in a 1-1 draw in Polokwane.
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