Mamelodi Sundowns claimed a hard-fought 3-2 win over Lamontville Golden Arrows in Sunday afternoon’s MTN8 semifinal second leg at King Zwelithini Stadium in Umlazi.
The victory sent Masandawana through on the away-goals rule after a 3-3 aggregate draw, and they will face Orlando Pirates in the final. Coach Miguel Cardoso and his side have now turned their attention to the 2 September Betway Premiership clash against Milford FC.
Arrows, on the other hand, saw their cup dreams fade away after crashing out of the tournament. However, coach Pitso Dladla and his team will get a chance for revenge when they host Sundowns in a Betway Premiership clash on 6 September.
Mamelodi Sundowns are #MTN8 finalists.
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) August 30, 2026
They will face Orlando Pirates in a rematch of the 2023 final.#SSDiski pic.twitter.com/ppXmoaYa2b
As expected, Masandawana controlled possession, while Abafana Bes’thende sat back and looked to hit the African champions on the counter. Teboho Mokoena picked up an early yellow card in the 17th minute after cynically stopping Nhlanhla Zwane’s transition.
However, the visitors then broke the deadlock in the 31st minute with a beautiful team goal. Cassius Mailula scored his fourth of the season after Marcelo Allende set him up with a quick one-pass move inside the Arrows box, sending Sundowns into halftime 1-0 up.
Abafana Bes’thende came out fighting after the restart and levelled through in-form Sede Junior Dion. Ronaldo van Neel swung in a cross, and the Ivorian striker fired home his third goal in as many games to make it 1-1 in the 68th minute.
However, Antonio van Wyk proved an inspired substitute; his cross was blocked before eventual Man of the Match Allende finished in the 77th minute to put Sundowns 2-1 ahead. Van Wyk, who recently joined Sundowns from SV Ried, then sealed the win by scoring in the 85th minute.
Philani Khumalo pulled a goal back in injury time for Arrows, but it was too little, too late to save their MTN8 hopes.
Arrows (0) 2 (Dion 69', P. Khumalo 90'+1)
Sundowns (1) 3 (Mailula 31', Allende 77', Van Wyk 85')
3-3 on aggregate - Sundowns won on away goals
Arrows: Mbanjwa, Agnikoi, Dlamini (Sithole 88'), Manthiyane, Van Neel (Radzhadzhi 76'), Shezi, Maluleke, Maxwele, Dion, Gasa (P. Khumalo 88'), Zwane
Sundowns: Williams, Grant Kekana, Ndamane (Khoza 64'), Morena (Mdunyelwa 83'), Basadien, Allende, T. Mokoena, Ndlovu, Matthews (Van Wyk 74'), Mailula (B. Mokoena 74'), Leon (Rayners 82')