Nedbank Cup: Sizzling Stellenbosch end Sundowns' treble-winning dreams, Pirates push past Dondol

At Athlone Stadium, Cape Town 

Stellenbosch secured a dramatic 2-1 victory over Mamelodi Sundowns at Athlone Stadium on Saturday, thanks to Iqraam Rayners' brace.

The defeat ended the hopes of Sundowns, who have already won the DStv Premiership crown, to win a treble of trophies as they are still in pursuit of the CAF Champions League.

Rhulani Mokwena's team was confirmed as league champions with seven games to go, which is a record for the earliest title win in the history Premier Soccer League era. But then Sundowns went on a run of four draws in five matches.

Contrary to Sundowns' Cup-winning campaign, Stellenbosch had to deal with heartbreaking off-field issues following the shocking death of Oshwin Andries.

Their first match after Andries' passing was the Nedbank Cup last 16 clash at the same venue, where they beat TS Galaxy 6-3 on the night to set up a home clash against Sundowns.

The estimated crowd at Athlone Stadium for the tantalising quarter-final was beyond 15 000, with supporters equally distributed between the two sides.

Thirty-five minutes into the fixture, the match was perfectly poised, as neither side had a clear-cut opportunity at having a strike on target.

Chances were few and far between as both sides struggled in the final third, with inadequate decision-making skills that would eventually haunt them.

The home side would rue a goalscoring opportunity as Ibraheem Jabaar dislodged the ball from Teboho Mokoena, sparking a four-versus-two counter-attack.

However, the Nigerian midfielder failed to recognise that Junior Mendieta was wide open on the right flank and steered a poor pass that went straight into the path of a Brazilian shirt.

It was then that Sundowns sniffed danger as they immediately pushed forward.