Orlando Pirates’ hopes of winning the Betway Premiership suffered a major knock after they were held to an exciting 1-1 draw by arch-rivals at the FNB Stadium on Sunday. The draw may have opened the door for defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns who were playing against Richards Bay on the same day.
After an insipid first half, the game came to life in the second half with both teams going at each other like warring siblings. While supporters came to the party, and filled the gigantic stadium to capacity, the players had a lethargic first half.
The stadium was packed to the rafters, and it would not be an exaggeration to suggest that the people inside the venue were over capacity, something that should be a worry to the organisers. This is becoming a habit, as witnessed in the last two Soweto derbies at FNB Stadium.
Even though the game was delayed twice and it started 45 minutes late, there were still people outside venue, scrambling to get inside. In the other sections, supporters were seen outmuscling security officers and stormed into the stadium. The delay was for safety and security reasons so that people could stream inside the stadium.
The demand and the appetite for the derby is growing at an alarming rate, and measures need to be taken before disaster strikes. The new ticketing system, whereby tickets are scanned, is proving to be a little cumbersome and tedious. Traffic congestion around the stadium also did not help matters.
The Buccaneers were the better side in a sluggish first half but they did not dominate Chiefs, who were for the taking and only created sporadic goal-scoring opportunities. Their forays goalwards were few and far in between. In one of those moments, Chiefs goalkeeper Brandon Petersen kept his team in the game with two acrobatic saves from Oswin Appollis and Yanela Mbuthuma.
Appollis thought he had broken the deadlock, but his goal was ruled out for offsides by the referee Abongile Tom. Pirates were then forced into making a substitution when the hard-working Tshepang Moremi was pulled out after suffering an injury just before the half-time break. Patrick “Tito” Maswanganyi took his place in the heart of the Bucs midfield.
Chiefs did not have many options and ideas going forward, and as a result, Pirates’ goalkeeper Sipho Chaine had an off day, especially in the first half. Chiefs showed some improvement and character after the break and started threatening the Bucs penalty area. Glody Lilepo was in the thick of things when his spectacular effort landed in the stands.
Amakhosi were rewarded with a goal after a lung-busting run on the right by Wandile Duba. The stocky forward unselfishly located Pule Mmodi inside the box and he swept the ball into the net, beating Chaine hands down. The goal sent the Chiefs fans into a state of frenzy, with wild celebrations in the stands.
Pirates fought back and showed determination to equalize, and Kamogelo Sebelebele leveled matters when he stroked the ball from the rebound. After the goal, Pirates pressed hard, but their attempts to get a winner were not enough.
- Orlando Pirates’ hopes of winning the Betway Premiership suffered a major knock after they were held to an exciting 1-1 draw by arch-rivals at the FNB Stadium on Sunday.
- The draw may have opened the door for defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns who were playing against Richards Bay on the same day.
- After an insipid first half, the game came to life in the second half with both teams going at each other like warring siblings.
- While supporters came to the party, and filled the gigantic stadium to capacity, the players had a lethargic first half.
- The stadium was packed to the rafters, and it would not be an exaggeration to suggest that the people inside the venue were over capacity, something that should be a worry to the organisers.
