Stellies hold their nerve to claim cup final on penalties against Galaxy

At Moses Mabhida Stadium

Stellenbosch won their first ever trophy when they claimed inaugural Carling Knockout after beating TS Galaxy 5-4 in a dramatic penalty shootout on Saturday in Durban.

The match had finished 1-1 after extra time and had to be decided on penalties, and that's where Stellies held their nerve. Darrel Matsheke scored the winning spot kick in sudden death.

Steve Barker's Stellies pocketed R6,6 million while Galaxy walked away with R2.6 million for finishing as runners-up.

Saturday's victory was sweet for Stellies, who had lost two semifinals this year.

Stellies came into the final with the upper hand as they had never lost a match to Galaxy, winning seven and drawing three of their previous encounters.

It was also Barker's second final appearance after losing to Moroka Swallows in the Nedbank Cup in 2009 with the University of Pretoria.

Stellies who had the promising start as they showed their determination and nearly opened the scoring in the 19th minute when Iqraam Rayners connected from Fawaaz Basadien's cutback in the area, but Galaxy keeper Fiacre Ntwari produced a point-blank save.

Galaxy, however, broke the deadlock two minutes before the interval against the run of play when Lehlohonolo Mojela's stunner inside the box beat Sage Stephens following a round from a corner kick.

Stellies went in search of an immediate response through a succession of corners, but Galaxy defended well to head into the interval with the advantage.

Galaxy continued where they left off in the first half as they went in search of the second goal and had few chances but could not convert them, while Stellies struggled a bit.

With a goal advantage, Galaxy then opted to sit back to protect their lead, while waiting to catch their opponents on the counter.

By doing so, they invited pressure from Stellies, who threw more bodies forward, searching for an equaliser.

Stellies pressure finally paid off 16 minutes from time, when Ismael Toure netted from inside the box as Galaxy's defense failed to clear from the corner and were punished and made it 1-1.

Buoyed by the goal, Stellies had momentum and came close to taking the lead, but could not convert the chances they created.

Galaxy also had the best chance to restore their lead, but Sphiwe Mahlangu's effort from the area was saved by Stephens.

Stellies were reduced to 10 men, with Basadien shown a straight red card with two minutes remaining for a dissent, but that didn't matter in the end as Matsheke scored the decisive kick after Mojela had ballooned his.