BLOEMFONTEIN – Bloemfontein Celtic beat SuperSport United 5-4 on penalties in their Nedbank Cup last-32 fixture at the Dr Molemela Stadium in Bloemfontein on Sunday.
The score was deadlocked at 1-1 after 90 minutes, without further change after 30 minutes of extra time as the sides marched to penalties.
Phunya Sele Sele, as Celtic are known, should have been 2-0 to the good in the 36th minute when striker Ndumiso Mabena scored from the penalty spot.
The former Platinum Stars goal-getter fluffed a penalty attempt in the 17th minute, with SuperSport goalkeeper Thakasani Mbanjwa pulling off a save to keep the scores level at that stage.
The pay channel-owned club had to wait until as late as the 58th minute to get back into the match, when Zimbabwean striker Kingston Nkhatha produced a class cross which found teenage midfield prodigy Sipho Mbule, who slotted the ball home.
SuperSport, who ended a four-match winless streak with a 4-2 thrashing of Celtic in the league in Tshwane eight days back, have struggled to find the form that got them to the silver medal in the Caf African Confederation Cup late last year.
Celtic, who have seemed to lose some of their fizz after an impressive first half of the season, have returned statistics of just two draws and three losses in their last five league matches, and will face Polokwane City in an Absa Premiership home fixture next Sunday.
SuperSport will take on bottom-of-the-log Platinum Stars in their next league encounter in Rustenburg on February 20.