Dutch goalkeeper Peter Leeuwenburgh saved two shootout penalties on Sunday to take Cape Town City into the MTN8 final and complete a miserable week for Mamelodi Sundowns.
Cape Town triumphed 4-2 on penalties near Pretoria after Sundowns won the second leg of the semi-final 1-0 through a goal from Guinea-Bissau striker Toni Silva.
City had won the first leg by the same scoreline at home last weekend, leaving the clubs deadlocked at 1-1 on aggregate after 180 minutes.
Elimination for Sundowns came five days after they suffered a similar fate at the group stage of the Caf Champions League, a competition they won two seasons ago.
Leeuwenburgh, who joined City on a three-year deal in June from the Ajax Amsterdam reserve side, saved penalties from Silva and Liberian Anthony Laffor to be named the Man of the Match.
“The goalkeepers’ coach and I did our homework on how Sundowns players take penalties,” said the 24-year-old, who represented The Netherlands at three age-limit levels.
“With so little to choose between the teams, a penalty shootout was always a possibility, and I needed to know as much as possible about Sundowns’ regular penalty-takers.
“Cape Town is a young club and we have reached the MTN8 final for the second successive season, so let us go for it and lift the trophy this time.”
What a feeling! On through the final after beating Sundowns by penalty’s. CTC on fire 🔥💙
— Peter Leeuwenburgh (@pleeuwenburgh) September 2, 2018
City will face SuperSport United, the club who beat them on penalties in the 2017/2018 final of the R8 million winners-take-all competition.
Bradley Grobler of SuperSport scored the goal that beat Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 in the second leg of the other semi-final in Soweto on Saturday, and took his club through 3-2 on aggregate.
He bagged a first-leg brace last Sunday, leading to his recall by South Africa for a 2019 African Cup of Nations qualifier against Libya in Durban on September 8.
THAT FINAL FEELING! 🔥 #iamCityFC #MTN8Final pic.twitter.com/onKBUiRB9W
— Cape Town City FC (@CapeTownCityFC) September 2, 2018