Orlando Pirates have qualified for their third consecutive MTN8 final after beating Cape Town City 2-0 in the second leg of their semi-final tie at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.
Following two legs of intense semi-final action, the Buccaneers go through after winning 3-1
on aggregate.With a perfect win record on home soil so far this season, the Buccaneers were aiming for
more of the same in their third outing at the iconic venue. They dominated possession early on, but found themselves having to do a bit of defending of their own with defender Thabiso Sesane and goalkeeper Sipho Chaine both called upon as the visitors manufactured some bright moments inside the opening quarter.
Most of the play was however concentrated inside City’s half of the field and it did not take long for the breakthrough which came in the 25th minute. This was courtesy of a cleverly-worked set move initiated from a short corner, as a pinpoint cross from Relebohile Mofokeng located Tshegofatso Mabasa, who opened his account for the season with a lovely header into the bottom corner.
Thalente Mbatha looked to double Pirates’ lead in the 36th minute through a long-range effort, but could only fire wide as the hosts piled pressure on the opposition. The second of the afternoon did not remain elusive for too long with Deon Hotto making it 2-0 one minute from the break through a free kick taken right in front of City’s goal, leaving goalkeeper Darren Keet with no chance.
Pirates emerged from the tunnel looking to create further daylight between themselves and
the Capetonians and had an opportunity to pull three-goals ahead through Mabasa. The
Bucs striker pounced on some slack defending from Lorenzo Gordinho before working his
way into a one-on-one situation with Keet, who pulled off an excellent save to keep his side
in the game. The City shot-stopper however came second best in the 65th minute, this time going one-on-one with Mofokeng who was able to dribble past him only to place his shot on the side
netting.
The visitors had a chance to pull one back through a long-range attempt from Heaven Seeretsi, but Chaine had positioned himself perfectly to complete a fairly comfortable stop with just 10 minutes left on the clock.
With time running out for City, midfielder Kayden Francis went wide with an ambitious shot
from range. This was followed by an acrobatic attempt at the other end deep in injury time
from the boot of Evidence Makgopa, who fired off target after connecting with a cross from
Hotto.
Having scored three times over the two legs, the Soweto Giants had done enough in the end
as they marched to the final, where they await the result of the second semi-final between
Stellenbosch and Mamelodi Sundowns.
Pirates XI: Chaine, Sesane, Ndah, Monyane (Maela 62’), Hotto, Makhaula, Mbatha (Timm
72’), Maswanganyi, Saleng (Dlamini 88’), Mofokeng (Gilberto 72’), Mabasa (Makgopa 88’)
