Chiefs, Pirates in Charity Cup final

A dramatic last minute goal by Sthembiso Ngcobo, earned Kaizer Chiefs a hard fought 1-0 victory over Mamelodi Sundowns in the second Telkom Charity Cup semifinal played at Soccer City on Saturday.

Amakhosi meet arch-rivals Orlando Pirates in the final, which kicks off at 5pm.

Ngcobo, who signed for Chiefs in the off-season, could not have asked for a better time and place to announce his arrival with his new club.

The game started off at a frenetic pace with both teams eager to dominate.

The teams showed class from the outset, with flowing, fast football on display in front of the near-capacity crowd.

A quick counter attack from Chiefs in the 14th minute was dealt with well by the Downs' defence.

Chiefs' Knowledge Musona tested Downs goalkeeper Calvin Marlin with a fierce shot in the 17th minute.

After 30 minutes the teams were equally matched but the better scoring chances fell to Chiefs.

The second half began in the same vein with some fast paced football and Chiefs' Mandla Masango had a good run before forcing a good save from Downs keeper Marlin in the 59th minute.

With Chiefs gaining the ascendancy, Sundowns started to ring the changes and fought their way back into the game.

With just over 10 minutes remaining, Siphiwe Tshabalala stepped into familiar territory with a free kick for Chiefs from 28 metres. His shot was beautifully struck but sailed centimetres over the crossbar.

With the game destined for penalties, both teams stepped up the pace and Downs came close to breaking the deadlock in the 82nd minute when Mathew Pattison made a great run down the right wing and finished off with a well-timed cross leaving Franklin Cale with just keeper Itumeleng Khune to beat.

But his first-time shot went narrowly wide. Cale was involved in the action again three minutes later with a fierce strike from 30 metres requiring a great reaction save from the Chiefs keeper.

Chiefs ran hard at the Downs defence and released a succession of shots before Ngcobo was able to head home the winner and propel Chiefs into the final. - Sapa