PIC: Ricardo Goss of SuperSport United saves a penalty during the 2024 Nedbank Cup Last 32 match against Cape Town City

We have already had more penalty shoot-outs in the 2024 Nedbank Cup than in 10 of the previous 16 years having only completed the Last 32, which potentially sets us on course for a record-breaking year when it comes to spot-kicks.

Six of the 16 first round ties went to a shootout, which included a famous victory for second-tier Milford FC over Kaizer Chiefs after their game ended goalless.
It shows the closing gap between the tiers in South African football. One of the shootouts – SuperSport United’s win over Cape Town City – was an all-DStv Premiership affair, while there was also an all-ABC Motsepe League clash between FC Ravens and Spain FC.

But the other four were between teams from different divisions, including topflight Sekhukhune United needing penalties to see off third-tier Highlands Park.
It is already more shootouts than we saw in the entire competition last year (5), but the uptick in the number of games needing to be settled by penalties has been a trend for some years.
Before 2023, the previous four seasons had seen a big spike in the number of ties that have gone to the extra 30 minutes and penalties.

The most amount of Nedbank Cup matches going to extra-time and penalties was in 2021 when no less than 12 ties went to an extra 30 minutes, with nine of those ending in a penalty shoot-out. It is more on both counts than in any other season since 2008, but now likely under threat from the fast start in 2024.
That was part of an upward trend in recent seasons as the gap between minnow sides, or the second-tier and first-tier, continues to close.
It really started in 2019 when the number of shoot-outs jumped from three to seven, and nine games were played over 120 minutes.
The following season also saw seven shoot-outs and this time 10 games going to extra-time, before the record year in 2021.

The number of shoot-outs dropped to six in 2022, but there were still 11 games that went to the added 30 minutes, the same number as 2023.

It is all a far cry from 2011, when there were only two shoot-outs and four ties that went to extra-time, the lowest in the now 17-year history of the Nedbank Cup.
It was in keeping with the generally low numbers of that time, though there was an anomaly in 2010 when we had seven shoot-outs and nine games go to extra-time.  

NEDBANK CUP MATCHES TO HAVE GONE TO PENALTIES/EXTRA-TIME

Year     Pen      ET        

2008    6          6

2009    5          8

2010    7          9

2011    2          4

2012    4          6

2013    3          8

2014    4          9

2015    3          6

2016    4           8

2017    4          6

2018    3          6

2019    7          9

2020    7          10

2021    9          12

2022    6          11

2023    5          11

2024*  6          7

*After Last 32, 15 matches still to play