MAMELODI SUNDOWNS (0) 1
Adams 119
SEKHLHUNE UNITED 0
The Capetonian tapped home the loose ball after it bounced off the upright back into play as the shoot-out from the penalty spot loomed large.
A stubborn Sekhukhune had held on to keep the marauding Sundowns out thanks to the incredible brilliance of Renaldo Leaner in their goals.
It's him again. Jayden Adams....
— Mamelodi Sundowns Sharpeville Branch® (@MS_Sharpeville) March 28, 2025
#Sundowns 👆 #NedbankCup pic.twitter.com/QuaSBkb2Md
But there was little the goalkeeper who duly walked away with the Player-of-the-Match award could do to stop Adams scoring a third goal in three successive matches in eight days.
Thapelo Morena attacked from the right and shot for goal only for Leaner to deflect the ball with his leg onto the upright.
The ricochet fell kindly for the alert Adams to slot home the winner to add to the two goals he scored for South Africa’s senior national men's team against Lesotho in Polokwane last Friday and Benin in Abidjan on Tuesday.
✅ Goal for country 🇿🇦
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) March 28, 2025
✅ Goal for club 🟡
It's Jayden Adams season in Mzansi 😏⚡
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Sundowns are now going to meet Kaizer Chiefs in the penultimate round of the country’s premier club knockout competition.
Yet while their dominance was such that they were deserved winners, Sundowns had met an immovable object in the form of Leaner, who was starting ahead of Badra Sangare for the first time in a year.
Not that you’d have told this was the case from the young goalkeeper’s brilliant performances, which saw him pulling off numerous saves as last year’s finalists went down on him like a ton of bricks.
Here’s a chronicle of his saves.
*On 45 minutes, right on the stroke of half time, he produced a superb two-fisted save punching out Iqraam Rayners' header from close range.
*On the 56th minute, he stretched his foot out to send an on-target shot by Esquivel away from the goal. Seven minutes thereafter, Leaner makes a double save; first blocking a Rayners shot before leaping back to his feet in time to push out a header by Arturo Sales from the resultant goalmouth melee.
Three minutes before the end of normal time, he pulls off, Leaner makes another double fisted save this time pushing out Grant Kelana's free header.
In extra time, clearly tired after his body had taken numerous knocks, Leaner again came to Sekhukhune’s rescue as he pulled off yet another super save, this time punching out a Lucas Ribeiro free-kick that had goal written all over it.
Sure he had gotten beat by Peter Shalulile and the officials erroneously ruled the goal out. But Leaner deserved the Player-of-the-Match award alright, Adams’ winner notwithstanding.
Such was his showing that Sundowns goalkeeper and skipper Rownwen Williams was seen congratulating him afterwards.