Richards Bay have secured a spot in the semi-finals of the Carling Black Label Knockout after beating Orlando Pirates 5-4 on penalties at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday evening.
Pirates’ forward Deon Hotto took the first spot-kick of the shootout and missed. His lame effort was to prove costly as the Natal Rich Boyz converted all their five penalties. The loss served to extend Pirates winless streak. Richards Bay now join Stellenbosch FC and AmaZulu in the semis after the latter beat Golden Arrows 3-0 on Saturday night.
Stellenbosch advanced to the last-four of the competition following their 2-0 victory over Polokwane City on Friday night.
Pirates coach Jose Riveiro and his charges went into the game eager to bounce back and continue their impressive run in the domestic cup competitions, following their disappointing form in the DStv Premiership recently.
In the midweek, Bucs were stunned by the new kids on the block Cape Town Spurs, who registered their first ever win since gaining promotion to the premiership by beating Bucs 2-1.
On Saturday, Pirates were back to their home-away-from home ground Moses Mabhida, where they won the MTN8 cup final on October 7.
The visitors from Joburg started the game with more intent than the home side, as Riveiro was desperate to prove that he still has what it takes to lead the Soweto giants to yet another cup competition success.
There weren’t much clear-cut goal scoring opportunities in the first half, with the only goal threat coming at the stroke of half-time when Hotto rattled the post and Evidence Makgopa was an inch late to score the rebound.
Pirates’ late goal disallowed
In the second half, Riveiro made some offensive changes, which saw skillful midfielder Karim Kimvuidi and young sensation Relebohile Mofokeng – who returned to the team after his trial with English Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers recently.
Pirates thought they had found the back of the net in stoppage time through Nkosinathi Sibisi, but referee Thabo Mkhabela ruled it out for a foul on goalkeeper Philasande Manqele and took the game to extra-time.
Even extra time could not separate the two sides as the tie could only be decided through a penalty shootout.
Without MTN8 final hero Sipho Chaine missing between the sticks due to an injury, second choice goalkeeper Melusi Buthelezi was called to action. However, he could not deliver when it mattered the most as he failed to save even one penalty as Bucs crashed out of the Carling Knockout.
