Resino's debut marred by red card as Marumo Gallants triumph over Mamelodi Sundowns

WASHINGTON ARUBI outdid Ronwen Williams in the shoot-out from the penalty spot to help Marumo Gallants knock Mamelodi Sundowns out of the Carling Knockout 7-6 after a goalless 120 minutes.

The Zimbabwean veteran goalkeeper saved three kicks and then stepped up to score the decisive one as the Free State outfit shocked last year’s finalists who finished the match a man down.

New signing Miguel Resinho came on late in the match but lasted merely eight minutes in the fray as he got sent off for an over the top tackle that saw the referee flashing the red card.

Signed as a free agent from Portugal, Resinho was expected to shine bright on debut just like his compatriot Nuno Santos did in his first match. But while he showed some glimpses of brilliance, the rush of blood to the head which saw him nearly breaking Siyabonga Nhlapo’s leg spoiled his debut.

It was a match Sundowns dominated from start to finish, even when they had gone a man down but the Brazilians just could not find that final shot to send Arubi scooping the ball from his net.

Tashreeq Matthews was the livewire early on troubling the visiting defence on the left side only for his final decision to go awry.

Sundowns’ showing after the break spoke to their desire to kill the match off as a contest as they kept Gallants on the backfoot. But as long as they were not getting breached, the away side seemed content to allow their hosts to come at them.

All of Khuliso Mudau, Arthur Sales, Aubrey Modiba and Iqraam Rayners had half chances from the beginning of the second stanza until about the 70th minute, but they all fluffed their lines – shooting wide. Modiba did get a free kick on target but Arubi did well to parry it away.

Santos also forced a good save out of Arubi while substitute Teboho Mokoena saw his header bouncing off the ground and then rattling the crossbar as the Gallants' goal lived a charmed life.

It just was not Sundowns’ evening and when Resinho got sent off, it appeared they were going to be in trouble. But they still dominated play as Gallants looked content to soak up the pressure, perhaps confident in their abilities from the penalty spot and especially in Arubi’s skills in saving them.

The 40-year-old Zimbabwean stopped the first two kicks by Marcello Allende and Fawaaz Basadien while Williams denied Jaison Clifford.

Late on in sudden-death kicks, Arubi saved Mosa Lebusa’s kick and then stepped up to smash home past Williams for Gallants’ first ever victory over Sundowns.