Valdezia Juventus secured a place in the final of the Comrade Mdaka Soccer Challenge by beating Bungeni Young Diplomats 4-1 in their semifinal at the Bokisi grounds on Saturday.

The first half was equally contested, with both sides creating and missing scoring chances. Juventus were the first to make amends and ultimately found the net in the 19th minute. Matome Mabobo beat the keeper with a close-range ground cutter, following a corner kick that was taken by Patrick Maswanganyi.

Mr Jelly Chabani, the promising diminutive referee, warned Nkosinathi Masia of Juventus with a card for handling the ball intentionally in the 24th minute.

Young Diplomats fought back nine minutes before the end of the first half. Their solitary goal was an honour to their central midfielder, Miehleketo Mathonsi. Mathonsi went loose after beating the offside trap and sent the keeper the wrong way to bring the half-time score to 1-1.

Juventus replaced their goal scorer, Matome Mabobo, with Daniel Mathebula early in the last half. They took the lead again in the 54th minute. Ntsako Mathebula, who scored a brace in the game, was on target with a long-range volley. Juventus did not stop fighting, despite the fact that they were reduced to 10 men after scoring the goal. Their first goal scorer, Matome Mabobo, was given his marching orders for pulling out his shirt while celebrating his team’s second goal.

Young Diplomats faced a similar situation when their striker, Kanukani Magoro, saw red for a late tackle on Lucky Mathonsi. Ntsako Mathebula completed his brace in the 69th minute after a clearing error. Miehleketo Mathonsi of Juventus was reprimanded with a card for wasting time. He held on to the ball for far too long before throwing it back into the field of play after his side was awarded a throw-in.

Juventus put matters beyond doubt when Wanela “ Bongo” Furumela scored after a scramble within the box later in the game.