After snatching all three points, completing a league double, and ultimately claiming the bragging rights, Orlando Pirates will be looking to put a nail in the coffin in their dominance over Kaizer Chiefs this season when they go into the Nedbank Cup final on Saturday.
Amakhosi and the Buccaneers will be going round two in the Soweto derby when they meet again in the space of seven days at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
The two sides set the tone of the iconic fixture yesterday in their Betway Premiership encounter, when coach Jose Riveiro’s men came from behind to salvage an impressive 2-1 win over hapless Amakhosi at the FNB Stadium yesterday.
Glody Lilepo opened the scoring for the Glamour Boys two minutes into the game, but Evidence Makgopa found an equaliser, then Relebohile Mofokeng came out of nowhere in the game and produced the winning goal for the Bucs.
The result means Pirates are still on track in their chase for the elusive league title that they last won 13 years ago. Chiefs, on the other hand, are still forcing their way inside the top eight and are at risk of finishing outside of it once again this season.
They could, however, save their disappointing campaign under the new regime of Nabi by clinching the Nedbank Cup and finally ending their decade-long trophy drought.
Nabi will be going up against a Riveiro who is desperate to end his last dance at the club by defending the Nedbank Cup for the third time in a row, like he did with the MTN8 at the start of the season.
“Coach Jose Riveiro needs to defend the Nedbank Cup trophy, considering that this will be his last
dance at the club and final Soweto derby match,” Happy Jele told Sunday World ahead of the final.
“He did it with the MTN8 eight, winning it three times in a row, and he needs to do it with the Nedbank Cup as well. And hopefully, after that, he (Riveiro) can change his mind about leaving the club because he has brought back that unity and quality brand of football at the club.”
It goes without saying that the spirit of the Soweto derby is duly rejuvenated, as there was excitement and euphoria inside the calabash. The fixture is still celebrated and honoured by top celebrities and top politicians like Blade Nzimande.
As expected, emotions were high when the airplane flew over the fully packed stadium shortly after kick-off. The same atmosphere is expected going into the final on Saturday in Durban.
