The Premier Soccer League (PSL) is finally back, and football-hungry fans could not have asked for a better start to it as Orlando Pirates and SuperSport United put on a spectacle to set the tone of what is possible yet to come.
Pirates produced a hard-fought 3-1 win over SuperSport during their quarterfinal clash in front of a fully packed Orlando Stadium on Saturday evening.
Extra time was the only way to separate the two sides, with two goals from Monnapule Saleng and Evidence Makgopa enough to take the Sea Robbers over the line after a 1-1 stalemate in regulation time.
Both coaches fielded strong starting line-ups. This saw Gavin Hunt introducing five of his new signings, including Vincent Pule – who was on a serious mission to haunt his former club in their backyard.
Familiar squad
Riveiro, on the other hand, stuck with a more relatively familiar side from last season. None of his new signings got involved in the match-day squad.
The boisterous and buzzing crowd was entertained from the onset, with both teams taking the game to each other. They also kept most of the supporters on their feet with some quality football.
Pirates broke the deadlock at the stroke of halftime through captain of the day Olisa Ndah. He flicked the ball exquisitely inside the back of the net at close range, following a pin-point cross from Saleng.
Five minutes into the second half, Pule’s mission would be accomplished as he scored the equaliser. That was when he easily headed the ball past goalkeeper Sipho Chaine to silence the Pirates crowd.
Two big saves
On the other end of the goal posts, SuperSport United shot-stopper Ricardo Goss was the busiest of the two goalkeepers. He made two big saves to deny young Relebohile Mofokeng.
In the dying minutes of the game it was end-to-end stuff. Both teams were in search of the killer blow. However, it was not meant to be as referee Abongile Tom blew the whistle for extra-time.
Saleng and substitute Makgopa sealed the win for the Bucs to help them continue their MTN8 title defence intact.
Pirates coach Jose Riveiro will be pleased with the turnout of the supporters. They came out in numbers and turned Orlando Stadium into a full house.
