Arrows fight back in Umlazi to dump Galaxy out of Carling Cup

Golden Arrows booked their place in the semi-finals of the Carling Knockout Cup with a hard-fought 2-1 extra-time victory over TS Galaxy at the King Zwelithini Stadium on Sunday.

Abafana Bes’thende showed character and resilience to overturn an early deficit and end a nine-match winless streak against The Rockets, joining fellow KwaZulu-Natal side Richards Bay in the last four.

After a cautious opening in Umlazi, the visitors drew first blood through midfielder Sphesihle Maduna in the 20th minute. 

The KwaZulu-Natal-born player struck against his home province club, finishing off a flowing move initiated by Puso Dithejane, whose clever footwork opened space before a scrambled clearance fell kindly for Maduna. 

His deflected effort left goalkeeper Thakasani Mbanjwa rooted as Galaxy grabbed the lead.

Arrows gradually grew into the contest and found their rhythm as half-time approached. Their persistence paid off just before the interval when Ivorian defender Oumar Comara equalised from a set piece. 

Poor marking from Galaxy proved costly as Comara bundled home a close-range header to make it 1-1 in the 44th minute. With confidence restored, Manqoba Mngqithi’s men pushed forward after the restart and were unfortunate not to go ahead early in the second half. 

Substitute Jerome Karelse, introduced to add energy in attack, nearly made an instant impact. The 23-year-old former Mamelodi Sundowns academy product had two promising chances before the 65th minute. 

His best came when he latched onto a quickly taken free-kick, rounded the goalkeeper, but miscontrolled at the decisive moment. Moments later, Siyanda Ndlovu rattled the crossbar after showing great composure inside the Galaxy box.

Despite both sides probing for a winner, the match went into extra-time after a tightly contested 90 minutes. 

The breakthrough finally came in the 99th minute through Ayabulela Maxwele, who reacted quickest to a clever pass from Nqubeko Dlamini inside the penalty area to put Arrows ahead for the first time.

Galaxy, who had been solid throughout, struggled to muster a response as fatigue began to show. Arrows managed the closing stages expertly, maintaining composure and control to see out the result and spark jubilant celebrations among their supporters.

The victory not only ended Arrows’ frustrating run against Galaxy but also provided a timely boost after their midweek defensive struggles. Mngqithi’s side will now turn their attention to the semifinals, hopeful that this hard-earned win marks a turning point in their campaign.