AFC Leopards proceeded to the semi-finals of the SportPesa Super Cup after overcoming Singida United in a penalty shootout on Monday 5 June, 2017 at the Uhuru Stadium in Tanzania. The full time score was 1-1, forcing the teams to head to penalties where Ingwe emerged victorious.
The game started at a slow pace but Leopards got the first chance of the match in the 5th minute, Fiamenyo finding a cross and after over muscling a Singida defender, his effort could only hit the crossbar and back into play. Five minutes later, Singida went ahead from a Mtasa corner which found Kuntinyu Tafadzwa to head it home. In the 13th minute, Fiamenyo found the back of the net but much to his dismay, the goal was ruled offside. Ingwe had another chance a minute later with the keeper of his line but the Singida defense was well posed to clear the ball. Captain Bernard Mang’oli took the first free kick in the 17th minute but his shot did not trouble the keeper at all.
In the 23rd minute, Singida’s Shango delivered a beautiful cross into the Leopards’ box but there was no one to finish it off. A long cross from the Leopards’ defense found Fiamenyo in the 25th minute, but keeper Lubawa was quick to clear the danger. Two minutes later, Mang’oli’s beautiful pass to Fiamenyo was overshadowed by the latter’s feeble shot. In the 32nd minute, Hassan Dumba fouled Oburu at the edge of the box, earning him the first yellow card of the game. Mang’oli could however not make anything out of the resulting free kick, shooting it over the bar.
In the second half, AFC Leopards came back hungry for a goal and worked the Singida defense but could not get anything in the opening twenty minutes of the second half. The equalizer finally came in the 68th minute, Vincent Oburu scoring his first goal for the club this season after racing down the left flank to bury the ball past Lubawa. Ingwe then brought in Allan Kateregga for Harun Nyakha a minute later to try and find the winning goal.
Leopards almost fell back again in the 71st minute, Andika punching a dangerous cross which found Simbarashe who could only shoot wide from close range. Isuza wasted a glorious chance in the 82nd minute, a poor first touch in the Singida box letting him down. Three minutes later, Kateregga almost got the winner after heading a corner, only for his effort to be cleared off the line. Kateregga had another chance in the 89th minute in an one on one encounter with Lubawa but could only shoot straight to the keeper’s hands.
The match ended in a 1-1 draw but Leopards managed to make it to the semi-finals of the competition, thanks to a 5-4 win in the penalty shootout. Chuku Salum missed a penalty to hand Ingwe a semi-finals spot in the SportPesa Super Cup.
Report courtesy of Kenyanstar
