Nasreddine Nabi has etched his name in the history books of Kaizer Chiefs after ending what could have been a 10-year trophy drought after delivering the elusive piece of silverware yesterday.
Amakhosi left their blood and sweat as they produced an impressive, hard-fought 2-1 win over their biggest nemesis
Orlando Pirates during their Nedbank Cup final at a sold-out Moses Mabhida Stadium.
Before yesterday, it was exactly 10 years and one day since Chiefs last lifted a trophy when they won the PSL league title on May 9, 2015, under coach
Stuart Baxter.
However, Nabi delivered the goods and will be remembered as the coach who came to a troubled club and restored hope.
For Pirates and coach Jose Riveiro, it will probably not be the case, and a rather bitter pill to swallow, as his ideal farewell of making history by defending the Nedbank Cup a record third time was not meant to be, and he will leave the club on a sombre note at the end of the season.
It all started when the Spaniard first went far in the CAF Champions League, only to bottle it and lose in the semi-finals. Yesterday, they lost a trophy to their biggest enemies.
It will probably be worse in a week or two with the Betway Premiership title, as runaway leaders Mamelodi Sundowns are on course to defend
their crown for the eighth time in a row.
Kudos to the KwaZulu-Natal police and security personnel for how they handled the crowd, as everything went smoothly.
Even though there were some chance takers here and there, who wanted to cheat their way into the stadium, the police must be commended.
Gaston Sirino’s goal from the spot in the first half and Yusuf Maart’s cracking goal in the dying minutes of the game were enough for the Glamour Boys to be crowned champions and claim the bragging rights as the kings of Soweto.
There was, though, a heart-in-mouth moment for Amakhosi and its supporters, as the Buccaneers were pushing for the equaliser and add on Evidence Makgopa’s solitary goal, but goalkeeper Brandon Petersen came to the party as he made sure that Nabi’s big call to drop Bruce Bvuma paid off.
For whistleman Masixole Bambiso, despite the controversial penalty that he awarded to Chiefs 10 minutes into the game, and not giving it on the other side when Rele claimed to have been pushed inside the box by Inacio Miguel, he handled most parts of the game solidly.
Having already beaten Chiefs two times in the league this season, the Sea Robbers were not third-time lucky in the final as their rivals showed up on the day and prevailed.
