Cape Town City produced a ruthless second-half performance as they cruised to a 4-0 victory over Bloemfontein Celtic in a Nedbank Cup Last 32 clash at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
After a goalless first half, the flood gates eventually opened on the hour mark as Tashreeq Morris went on to score a hat-trick, with Thabo Nodada netting the other goal.
The Citizens made a flying start and had a glorious opportunity to claim the lead in just the third minute of play, but midfielder Mduduzi Mdantsane somehow failed to hit the target with an attempted half-volley from close range.
And they were very nearly made to rue that missed opportunity just two minutes later as Craig Martin turned a Celtic cross onto his own crossbar before the defence scrambled to clear the danger.
City kept pressing forward in search of an early opener but squandered another chance in the 14th minute as Tashreeq Morris fired into the side netting under pressure from the Celtic defence.
Celtic eventually mustered a noteworthy response on 24 minutes but City keeper Peter Leeuwenburgh was alert to the danger, snapping up Victor Letsoalo's goalbound shot.
The hosts created one more chance as the first half drew to a close but Mdantsane saw his shot drift well wide of the target after he let fly from range.
While the first half had failed to produce any goals, that was not the case after the half-time break as the Citizens went on to score four unanswered goals.
Morris finally broke the deadlock just moments before the hour mark, getting on the end of pinpoint Martin cross to prod the ball home from close range.
City added to their advantage nine minutes later as Morris doubled his tally with a well-taken header from a corner.
The result was eventually put beyond doubt on 75 minutes as Thabo Nodada got in on the act, firing home to give his side a three-goal cushion.
Celtic briefly threatened to pull one back a couple of minutes later but the referee waved away half-hearted appeals for a penalty after Leeuwenburgh rushed off his line to snatch the ball off the feet of a Celtic attacker.
And the Citizens would rub further salt in the wounds of Celtic as they notched a forth deep in injury time, Morris completing his hat-trick after being teed up by Mdantsane.
- TEAMtalk media