Johannesburg – Wits are safely into the quarterfinals of the Telkom Knockout after a comfortable 3-0 victory over struggling Moroka Swallows at the Bidvest Stadium on Friday night.
Jabulani Shongwe broke the deadlock on 35 minutes with his first goal of the season, with a brilliant long-range effort to set the tone for the rest of the encounter.
Skipper for the night, Buhle Mkhwanazi, headed home the Clever Boys' second on the hour mark, before Maliele Pule continued his solid form by netting the third shortly after.
Friday's result was a replica of August's league meeting between the two Gauteng outfits, when the Students were dominant 3-0
winners at the same ground on a freezing night in Braamfontein.
Having reached the semifinals of the MTN8, Wits booked their spot among the last eight of the tournament which has so far eluded coach Gavin Hunt.
For Swallows, it was another dismal display which took them to four consecutive defeats. Even more concerning for coach Zeca Marques will be the state of the Birds' defence.
The result saw their tally of goals conceded rise to 17 in eight games, with an average of two goals a game.
Leading at the break, Wits looked untroubled in possession and went about searching for their second.
Mkhwanazi duly obliged as he guided his header past Stephens at the near post, following a superb delivery from Sameehg Doutie, to put further distance between the two and all but wrap up a comfortable result.
But the hosts were far from finished and added a third five minutes later as Pule celebrated his second goal in as many matches, courtesy of a flying effort at the far post.
Wits saw out the rest of the 25 remaining minutes with little going Swallows' way.
Sthembiso Ngcobo could have added a fourth, but Stephens was on hand to make a rare save, to go some way in making amends for an otherwise night to forget. – Sapa