Sundowns fight back to reach MTN8 final after Arrows thriller

Mamelodi Sundowns overturned a first-leg deficit to beat Golden Arrows 3-2 at King Goodwill Zwelithini Stadium on Sunday and reach the MTN8 final on the away-goals rule.

Miguel Cardoso’s side had been beaten 1-0 by Arrows in the opening leg in Pretoria, where Junior Dion scored the only goal. Sundowns therefore needed a victory in Umlazi to keep their hopes of reaching the final alive.

They eventually got the result they needed, but only after a dramatic contest in which Arrows twice threatened to derail the South African champions’ comeback.

Cassius Mailula levelled the semi-final on aggregate in the first half, giving Sundowns momentum after their disappointing result in Pretoria. However, Dion struck again in the 69th minute to put Golden Arrows back in front on the night and restore their overall advantage.

Sundowns did not allow the setback to unsettle them. Substitute Antonio van Wyk made an immediate impact, delivering the cross from which Marcelo Allende equalised in the 77th minute.

Van Wyk then completed the turnaround eight minutes later, finding the net from long range to put Sundowns ahead for the first time in the match.

Golden Arrows responded with a late goal from Philani Khumalo, setting up a tense finish. Sundowns held on to win 3-2 on the night, leaving the tie level at 3-3 on aggregate. Their three goals scored away from home sent them through under the competition’s away-goals rule.

“It’s not easy to score three goals against Golden Arrows,” Cardoso said.

The Sundowns manager also acknowledged the quality of Pitso Dladla’s team, praising Arrows for their organisation and commitment. But he believed his own players had shown the correct mentality to handle the pressure created by the first-leg defeat.

“We had to build a strong commitment and attitude and positivity around this match,” he said. “We suffered, but we were able to keep ourselves in the right positivity towards the direction of the game.”

Cardoso had anticipated that the players introduced from the bench could alter the course of the match, and he was pleased with the energy and attacking threat they provided.

“We knew that we had finishers on the bench to bring in, that could bring energy and also give us some tricks,” he said.

Van Wyk proved especially influential, first creating Allende’s goal before scoring the winner himself. Cardoso, however, insisted that Sundowns’ success was not solely a consequence of having talented substitutes available.

He said the team also needed to adapt its approach depending on the challenge presented by each opponent, rather than relying on one method in every match.

“There’s an expression that says for the ones that just have a hammer as an instrument or a solution, all the problems look like nails,” he said. “But all the teams are not like nails. Some are nails, some are screws, and we need to use different tools according to the matches. Otherwise we will not solve the problems.”

The comeback represented progress for a Sundowns squad attempting to compete across multiple fronts. Cardoso said reaching the final had been an ambition from the beginning of the competition and that he had made his expectations clear to his players.

“When the competition started we said that we’d like to be in the final,” he said. “I asked the boys and said, ‘Guys, I need to play this final, I want you guys to play this final.’”

Sundowns will now face four-time defending champions Orlando Pirates in the MTN8 final, having advanced from a semi-final that tested their resilience and ultimately rewarded their ability to make their away goals count.