The lightweights upset Santos 3-2 at the Mochudi Buffaloes Ground. Before the game, nobody gave Rovers a chance and when Santos went 2-0 up in the 47th minute, the writing seemed to have been on the wall. The Premier League side raced into the lead despite the fact that they seemed to struggle with the dusty condition of the ground. In the absence of key strikers Kgakgamatso Pharo and Thato Siska, the burden of scoring goals for Santos fell on the shoulders of Kgosietsile 'Parker' Mampori and Thabo Sethebethe. Their combination looked out of sorts with only Mampori giving the hosts rearguard a torrid time. In the middle, Santos' international Vincent Phiri tried hard but it was not enough to spur his side to victory. Surprisingly, Santos' caretaker coach Keitumetse 'Pio' Paul left Under-23 midfielder Jackie Mothathego on the bench for 85 minutes, though it was clear that his midfield was not clicking.
The visitors opened the scoring in the 31st minute through Sethebethe. At the break, Santos were 1-0 up and doubled the lead two minutes after the restart through Sethebethe after a terrific pass from Phiri. Sethebethe controlled the ball with ease before slotting it past a bemused Rovers' goalkeeper Mosimanegape Thari. Minutes later, Mampori's shot missed the target much to the relief of the hosts. At this stage, Santos seemed to be in control of the proceedings but could not take advantage as they continued to waste chances.
When least expected, Rovers woke up from the slumber and netted three goals in 11 minutes to send their more superior opponents tumbling out of the lucrative tournament. Rovers' player-coach Olefile Ramaabya reduced the arrears in the 56th minute when he controlled the ball on the edge of the box, before beating Thabo Ntsiapane in goal.
The goal gave Rovers confidence and they started attacking Santos from all angles. Santos' defence of Talinda Nyathi, Pius Kolagano and Thabo Mothibi went to sleep in the 62nd minute and substitute Tebogo Ntwaage took full advantage with a close range header to tie the match at 2-2. The home fans went into wild celebrations after the equaliser and urged Rovers' players to go for the kill.
The unexpected happened in the 67th minute when Ramaabya completed his brace with a brilliant lob over an advancing Ntsiapane. Santos panicked and Paul was dismissed from the bench for not respecting the match officials. Santos' last chance of grabbing a late equaliser came in the 90th minute but goalkeeper Thari denied Phiri.
After the shock win, Ramaabya told Mmegi Sport that they struggled in the first half, they gave Santos a lot of respect. "I think pep-talk helped us a lot because we managed to express ourselves after the break. I think Santos' main undoing was when they substituted Parker because we started attacking freely without any worries," Ramaabya said.
In other Coca-Cola Cup games, Masitaoka proceeded to the next round after beating Letlapeng 5-4 in post-match penalties. Both sides were locked at 2-2 after the 90 minutes. Masitaoka scored early goals through Keeagile Kobe and Letang Basesane. After the break, Pane Rakhobo scored a brace to force the game into penalties. Wonder Sporting cruised through after beating Merafe 3-2.
