It went down right to the wire and Stellenbosch FC emerged as Carling Knockout victors following a 5-4 penalty shootout win over TS Galaxy on Saturday.

The two sides could not separate each other after extra time at Moses Mabhida Stadium and it needed the lottery kicks to decide the contest.

Lehlohonolo Mojela continued with his good form, putting TS Galaxy two minutes before halftime before Ismael Toure equalised for Stellenbosch on 74 minutes.

After launching a comeback, the Cape Winelands side would be proud of themselves after finishing the match with 10 men following an extra-time red card to Fawaaz Basadien.

To spice it up, Iqraam Rayners was named Man of the Match for the fourth straight Carling Knockout game, overall pocketing R400,000 although he has been sharing it with his teammates.

It was Stellebosch’s first-ever major trophy and a milestone achievement for coach Steve Barker who dedicated the victory to his late uncle Clive and Oswin Andries who passed away in February.

Both sides made goalkeeping changes with Sage Stephens returning for Stellenbosch while Fiacre Ntwari was back for TS Galaxy, rewarded for his penalty heroics in the earlier stages of the tournament.

With 19 minutes into the match, Ntwari justified his selection by blocking, with his legs, an Iqraam Rayners shot.

It was a time when TS Galaxy were struggling to make headway into the Stelenbosch box and Mojela was disappointingly quiet, struggling to replicate the form that made him tick in recent games.