Bafana Bafana striker Bongokuhle Hlongwane was the star of the show on Tuesday night, scoring a brace to help his side Minnesota United progress to the last 16 of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.
Hlongwane came on as a second-half substitute and wasted no time in making an impact. The 22-year-old scored the opener in the 68th minute before Philadelphia's Chris Donovan replied ten minutes later.
Hlongwane got back into the mix of things, providing an assist to Joseph Rosales for United's second goal. Philadelphia's Kai Wagern scored in added time to send the match into extra time.
The former Maritzburg United striker put Minnesota ahead once more in the first half of extra time, only for Wagner to also get his second in the last minute of extra time, sending the match to penalties.
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United eventually won the titanic clash 7-6 in the penalty shootout.
His brace ends a run of five matches without a goal for Hlongwane and will come as a relief for the speedy attacker who last got his name on the scoresheet in mid-April against Orlando City.
'Bongi' has now scored four goals for the Loons in eleven appearances this season and his form would have not gone unnoticed by Bafana head coach Hugo Broos who will be preparing a squad to take on Morocco on June 12 in an African Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier.
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