Orlando Pirates were knocked out of the CAF Champions League in the second stage of the preliminary rounds by Saint Eloi Lupopo of DR Congo at the Orlando Stadium on Saturday. Lupopo won 5-4 after the game was decided via penalty kicks.
Lupopo will now proceed to the group stages of the tournament. Pirates had staged a dramatic, amazing fightback after they started the match trailing by 3-0 from the first leg in Kinshasa last week. The Buccaneers fought hard and turned the tables around with a 3-0 win that sent the match to penalty shoot-outs. However, they let themselves down after Deon Hotto and Yanela Mbethuma missed their kicks.
Focus shifts to league
Maybe it is a blessing in disguise for the Buccaneers who can now focus on their quest to win the Betway Premiership after playing bridesmaid to Mamelodi Sundowns in the last couple of years. Last season, Pirates reached semifinals after a very taxing CAF campaign.
In the opening stages, the game was not a good advertisement of African football, with the Lupopo players and bench applying dirty tricks. They were robust and rough in their tackles, and they also resorted to time-wasting tactics as soon as the match got underway.
There was also an ugly scuffle between the players after Pirates opened the scoring in the first half. After Masindi Nemtajela opened the scoring, he grabbed the ball, and as he was rushing to the centre line for a quick restart, Amale Mukoko unsportingly snatched the ball away from his hands and a fracas ensued. Tshepang Moremi pushed Mukoko to the ground, and players from the bench jumped onto the pitch and a brawl followed. The referee then sent Moremi and Chris Maniania for an early shower for their involvement in the punch-up.
Lupopo game plan – delaying tactics
After the unpleasant scenes, the Congolese continued with their antics of winding up the clock, especially goalkeeper Simon Medji and Enoch Lihozasia.
The proceedings got better on the eye in the second half as both teams started playing some neat football. The introduction of Kabelo Dlamini added some spark into their attack and Yanela Mbuthuma made it 2-0 in the 68th minute. The goal brought more hope in the Bucs fans and Pirates were really back in the match. Mbuthuma could have grabbed another goal but he fluffed and easy chance.
As the clock ticked, Pirates pushed more men forward and they were rewarded with an equalizer that broke the hearts of the Congolese visitors. It was then up to the lottery of penalty kicks to decide the winner and the Bucs supporters went home a disappointed lot.
