Chicago Fire winger Puso Dithejane.

Image: Backpagepix

South African footballers continued to make their mark abroad over the weekend, with Puso Dithejane scoring in the United States while Olwethu Makhanya helped Rangers book their place in the Scottish League Cup final.

With Bafana Bafana’s upcoming international commitments looming, the performances will offer coach Pitso Mosimane further encouragement as he monitors the progress of South Africans playing abroad.

Dithejane was among the standout performers after coming off the bench to score in Chicago Fire’s 4-2 victory over Colorado Rapids in Major League Soccer on Saturday.

The former TS Galaxy winger was introduced in the 87th minute and needed just 36 seconds to make his mark, finding the back of the net in the 88th minute.

Dithejane finished off a move involving Andrew Gutman and Robert Lewandowski to score his third MLS goal of the season and complete Chicago’s four-goal haul.

His compatriot Mbekezeli Mbokazi also played an important role in the victory, completing the full 90 minutes in central defence as Chicago claimed all three points away from home.

The result kept the Fire fourth in the Eastern Conference with one regular-season match remaining.

Makhanya helps Rangers reach cup final

In Scotland, Bafana Bafana defender Olwethu Makhanya played the full 90 minutes as Rangers edged Aberdeen 1-0 to book their place in the Scottish League Cup final.

The centre-back continued his impressive start to life at Ibrox, helping Rangers register another clean sheet in a hard-fought semi-final.

The decisive moment arrived in the 83rd minute when Ryan Naderi found the back of the net to send Rangers through to the final.

Makhanya has quickly established himself as an important figure in the Rangers defence, with his latest performance adding to an encouraging run since his arrival in Scotland.

Rangers will now turn their attention to the final as they look to secure silverware under manager Derek McInnes.

Mofokeng features in Union SG victory

Meanwhile, Relebohile Mofokeng played 84 minutes as Royale Union Saint-Gilloise secured a 2-1 away victory over SK Beveren in the Belgian Pro League.

Union took the lead through Louis Patris shortly before half-time, before Guilherme Smith doubled their advantage early in the second period.

Beveren pulled one back through Arno Verschueren, but Union held on for all three points despite being reduced to 10 men following Dylan Aquino’s dismissal.

Mofokeng came close to getting on the scoresheet shortly after the restart, but his effort from close range went narrowly wide.

The former Orlando Pirates attacker continues to gain valuable experience in Belgium as he looks to strengthen his position in the Bafana Bafana setup.