Black Leopards booked a place in the last-16 stage of the Nedbank Cup by beating Blackburn Rovers 2-0 at the Giyani Stadium on Saturday evening.

Realising that the hosts were first to the ball, Rovers started to display their rough skills in a bid to frustrate them. The Cape Town referee, Mr Daniel Volgraaf, calmed the situation by flashing the first yellow card to Siyabonga Zulu in the 14th minute.

Leopards did not lose their fighting spirit, despite their opponents’ dirty tricks. They scored their opening goal in the 35th minute. It was their bulldozer striker, Rodney Ramagalela, who made it happen. He dispossessed a defender of Rovers, Linda Shiba, and moved few steps towards the goalie before unleashing a groundcutter that was too hot for the Rovers keeper, Bafana Nhlapo, to handle.

Ramagalela came close to scoring again four minutes before the half-time whistle. This time round, he caused an upset by shooting wide from inside the box. Itumeleng Duiker of Lidoda Duvha was cautioned with a card, following a late tackle on Curtis Dos Santos. Rodney Ramagalela, who was nominated the Man of the Match, was later replaced with David Zulu after sustaining an injury to the ankle.

Leopards increased the margin through Luyolo Mapholisa. He sent in a rocket, following a neat pass by Vincent Xakane in the 78th minute. The Leopards’ keeper, Postnet Omony, executed a brilliant save in the dying minutes of the game.