Bloemfontein Celtic have won the Macufe Cup at Vodacom Park after beating Free State Stars 1-0 in the final. The only goal of the game came from Patrick Maloase, who converted a late penalty after being brought down by Sanele Mbuso.
Ea Lla Koto gave a good account of themselves in the game, and indeed, things could have been different had Stars been given an early penalty when Paulus Masehe’s shot deflected off the arms of Thabo Nthethe.
An early goal from Justin Braun was enough for Chivas USA to beat the San Jose Earthquakes at the Buck Shaw stadium and seal their spot in the 2008-09 MLS Playoffs.
Braun’s seventh minute strike was assisted by Alecko Eskandarian, who has found the back of the net in the last three games Chivas have played, and ensures that Preki Radosavljevic’s side confirm their place in the playoffs for the third year running.
The loss severely damages the Earthquakes’ chances of becoming the first expansion team to qualify for the playoffs.
The USA maintained their unbeaten record in qualification for the 2010 World Cup when they thrashed Cuba 6-1 at the RFK Stadium in Washington. The victory, the fourth for the USA in as many games in the third qualification round, sees them sit atop Group 1 with 12 points. With Guatemala and Trinidad seven points behind, the USA are guaranteed of going into the next round as one of the two top teams from the group.
Rangers winger DaMarcus Beasley opened the scoring in the 10th minute, and doubled USA’s lead in the 30th minute. Jenzy Munoz then scored for the visitors two minutes later ( the first goal to have been conceded by the USA in qualification), but any hopes that the Cubans harboured of getting something out of the match were crushed when Yoel Colume was sent off for a second bookable offence before half time.