Cape Town City goalkeeper Peter Leeuwenburgh has revealed that he studied the Mamelodi Sundowns penalty takers before his heroics in the MTN8 semi-final.
The Dutch goalkeeper was the man of the moment on Sunday as he added to a good showing between the sticks during the 90 minutes by saving two out of the four penalties he faced as City won the shootout 4-2 to book a spot in the final.
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Leeuwenburgh produced several saves throughout the second-leg semi-final at the Lucas Moripe Stadium. He, however, could not deny Toni Silva, who gave Downs the early lead.
The game ended 1-0 and after last weekend’s 1-0 win for City, the aggregate score was level at 1-1.
Due to the format of the tournament, the match went straight to penalties, something that the City shot-stopper was prepared for.
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‘We did our homework. Last week I spoke to our goalkeeper coach a few times, “you know, we go straight to penalties if we lose 1-0”. Well, that’s what happened,’ Leeuwenburgh told SuperSport after the game.
‘The four guys who scored [in the penalties] did an amazing job. They made it easy for me, I’m very happy.
‘We watched as many penalties as possible of Sundowns, I think that’s part of being a professional goalkeeper. We did our homework well and we’re lucky it paid off,’ he concluded.
City will now take on SuperSport United in a repeat of last year’s MTN8 final, which Matsatsantsa won on penalties.
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Photo: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix