Sundowns will face Pirates in a mouth-watering battle for the trophy.
Mamelodi Sundowns survived a late scare to beat Golden Arrows 3-2 at the King Zwelithini Stadium on Sunday afternoon and book a blockbuster MTN8 final against Orlando Pirates.
The Brazilians overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit thanks to goals from Cassius Mailula, Marcelo Allende and Antonio van Wyk. The two-legged semi-final ended 3-3 on aggregate, but Sundowns progressed on the away-goals rule.
Abafana Besthende were largely content to sit back and protect their aggregate advantage, but their approach came under increasing pressure as Sundowns controlled the tempo.
The visitors started on the front foot, showing plenty of urgency as they looked to overturn the deficit. They dominated possession and created several openings, but were unable to find the breakthrough during the opening half-hour.
That all changed in the 31st minute as Mailula showed composure inside the box, placing his effort beyond the reach of Arrows goalkeeper Thakasani Mbanjwa after some excellent interplay with Allende.
Sundowns thought they had extended their lead four minutes into the second half when Khulumani Ndamane found the back of the net with his chest from Fawaaz Basadien’s cross.
However, referee Luxolo Badi ruled out the goal for handball after consulting his assistant, sparking controversy. Against the run of play, Arrows got their equaliser in the 70th minute. Junior Dion tapped home at the far post from Ronaldo Van Neel’s low cross to make it 1-1 on the day and restore Arrows’ aggregate advantage.
Dion was on target for the third consecutive match across all competitions, having also scored the winner in the first leg. Sundowns responded almost immediately. Eight minutes after Dion’s goal, Allende drilled a powerful effort past Mbanjwa to restore Sundowns’ lead and put them ahead on the away-goals rule.
Cardoso then turned to his bench, and Van Wyk made an instant impact. The substitute’s effort bounced awkwardly in front of Mbanjwa and found the back of the net with four minutes remaining to put Sundowns 3-1 ahead on the day.
Arrows refused to surrender as Philani Khumalo struck in stoppage time to make it 3-2 and set up a nervy finale. However, Sundowns held their nerve to secure a place in the MTN8 final, where they will face Pirates in a mouth-watering battle for the trophy.
