PIC: Stellenbosch FC goalkeeper Sage Stephens saves a penalty during the shootout in the 2023 Nedbank Cup semifinal against Sekhukhune United

One of the startling features of the Nedbank Cup Last 32 this year is the fact that not one of the 15 ties played went to extra-time, let alone a penalty shoot-out.
That has certainly bucked the trend of recent years, where the tightness of ties have seen the number of matches going to an additional 30 minutes, and penalties, on the increase.
Last year there were nine of the 31 Nedbank Cup ties, almost a third, that required extra-time, and of those, seven ended up going to penalties.

Only once, in 2021, were there more ties decided by penalties (9), while that year also featured the most games going to extra-time (12). 

Since 2019 there has been a rise in the number of fixtures going to an additional 30 minutes and penalties … before this year. 

The most amount of Nedbank Cup matches going to extra-time and penalties was in four years ago.
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 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 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 18-year history of the Nedbank Cup.

But that is certainly under threat this season with only 13 ties still to be played and teams seemingly desperate to wrap things up in the 90 minutes.
It was in keeping with the generally low numbers of that time in 2011, 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    7          9