SuperSport United midfielder Reneilwe Letsholonyane says his side gave Mamelodi Sundowns the respect they deserve despite his side progressing to the semi-finals of the Telkom Knockout Cup.

Matsatsantsa beat Sundowns 3-1 on penalties in the quarter-finals following a goalless after 120 minutes at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday, despite being reduced to 10-men in the second half.

The 34-year-old admits that the Brazilians were a good team on the day but believes his side had faith in their goalkeeper when it came to penalties and he didnt disappoint by saving two spot-kicks.

‘It was a difficult one,’ Letsholonyane said after the match

‘We knew that obviously, they are a good team. They are African champions and we gave them the respect they deserved.

‘But we knew when we got onto the field it’s 11 against 11 and we have to give them a run for their money. And we did that, we went to penalties and we knew Ronwen [Williams] would save some of their penalties and we scored ours.’

Letsholonyane says his side showed a real fighting spirit to overcome the defending champions despite going a man down in the second half of the match.

‘We’re a team that works hard. After we got a red card we knew we would still have to play 90 minutes and we did that. We fought until the last whistle and then with the penalties Ronwen saved us,’ he added.

SuperSport United will now take on Baroka when the two side’s meet in the Absa Premiership on November 19.

The match at Peter Mokaba Stadium kicks off at 15:30.

Image: Sydney Mahlangu/ BackpagePix