TS Galaxy eliminated Mamelodi Sundowns from the last-16 of the Nedbank Cup with a 2-0 win at the Solomon Mahlangu Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Sundowns came into the tie at the back of two major wins for the context of their season, beating MC Alger and Orlando Pirates to advance to the quarter-finals of the CAF Champions League and creep closer to the summit of the league.
In results that alleviated pressure off head coach Miguel Cardoso, he admitted that rotation was needed for the fixture as he looks to ease the workload of his squad during a congested fixture schedule.
But the much-changed side struggled to deal with the high press and direct attacking display of the home side in a narrow pitch in KwamHlanga, which saw teenage debutant Sphamandla Ngwenya open the scoring after 19 minutes.
A success story from the Kay Motsepe Schools tournament, it proved a moment to savour for the player who joined from the East High Academy and was only registered this week due to the clubs’ FIFA ban.
Zimbabwe international forward, Junior Zindoga made it 2-0 before the break, scoring from the spot after Thato Sibiya brought down Seluleko Mahlambi inside the area.
Sundowns made a host of changes in the second half with Brayan Leòn, Tashreeq Matthews, Aubrey Modiba, Themba Zwane and Thapelo Morena all being introduced, but the Rockets managed to hold firm in front of a sold out stadium in Mpumalanga.