Orlando Pirates were made to sweat by SuperSport United who gave them a torrid time in the quarterfinals of the Nedbank Cup on Saturday. The Buccaneers won the match 5-4 via penalty kicks after the game had ended 2-2 after extra time.
Bucs goalkeeper Sipho Chaine turned from villain to hero after he saved two spot kicks to send his club to the last four of the tournament. Earlier in the game, he committed a silly mistake which led to United’s equaliser in the first half, but he redeemed himself during the lottery of penalties.
Players from both teams did not give their fans a spectacle that was expected from the match. They huffed and puffed under the scorching sun in Polokwane, Limpopo. The players are having a hectic fixture programme and it was evident during the 90 minutes and the 30 minutes in extra times.
The only consolation for the fans were the four goals, which were conceded due to silly mistakes and schoolboy errors. It was rather uncharacteristic of the two teams who usually produce fireworks in their encounters.
In the two matches they played this season, Pirates had the upper hand, hammering Matsatsantsa 3-1 in the MTN8 and 2-0 in the Betway Premiership in October. Last month, Hunt’s team enjoyed a good run in the league when they nailed Cape Town Spurs 2-1 and buried Kaizer Chiefs under an avalanche of four goals.
Yesterday, Pirates were out of the blocks quicker than Akani Simbine as they almost caught the United defenders napping in the early stages. United did well to survive the onslaught and to regroup, and they started launching sporadic attacks of their own.
Mbekezeli Mbokazi opened the scoring for the Buccaneers with a powerful shot before Terrence Dzukamanja levelled matters for United with an easy tap after a howler from the Bucs goalkeeper Sipho Chaine. Evidence Makgopa made it 2-1 and Gape Moralo equalised after a solo run.
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