Orlando Pirates smashed and grabbed the Nedbank Cup final from Mamelodi Sundowns, as teenage sensation Relebohile Mofokeng scored the winning goal with what was literally the last kick of the game at the Mbombela Stadium yesterday.
From a missed penalty, controversial refereeing decisions, pushing and shoving, and a last-minute goal, the classic final lived up to expectations and will go down as one of the most exciting and exhilarating matches ever witnessed in SA football.
Pirates won the hotly contested tie 2-1 in full time.
The fan fever started at the Middelburg Plaza tollgate, where the hooters and cheers of travelling supporters of both teams personified the magnitude of the type of blockbuster South African football fans were expecting.
The trolls from both sets of supporters began as far as 191km away from Mbombela, as the fans were dancing, singing and beating their drums hard on the way to the venue.
Banners of club branches flapping on private cars and taxis convoying from all corners of the country – Soshanguve, GaRankuwa, Delmas, Klipgat, Ngcobo, Daveton, Strand and as far as the Eastern Cape.
Both coaches made big calls in their starting line-ups, as Riveiro named the DStv Premiership Golden Boot winner Tshegofatso Mabasa and his hero of the day Mofokeng, on the bench.
His opposite number, Rulani Mokwena, dropped Mothobi Mvala and missed Thembinkosi Lorch and talisman Peter Shalulile through injury.
It took as early as 10 minutes into the game for spectators to witness some action, when Pirates goalkeeper Sipho Chaine produced a spectacular penalty save, after Brazilian Lucas Ribeiro Costa failed to convert the spot kick.
The game opened up as both teams took the game to each other, but they could not be separated in the first half and went into the break goalless.
Moments into the second stanza, captain fantastic and midfield maestro Themba Zwane broke the deadlock in the 55th minute with an easy tap after some individual brilliance from Ribeiro.
However, it did not take long for the Buccaneers to respond, as fan favourite Patrick “Tito” Maswanganyi won a penalty for his side, then stepped up and made no mistake to level matters.
Riveiro produced a tactical masterstroke and introduced his attacking prowess in Mabasa and Mofokeng.
His changes paid off as Mofokeng had the last say and decided the match when he gave Bongani Zungu a shibobo before guiding the ball past Bafana Bafana’s number one goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, sending the Mbombela crowed into a frenzy.
Riveiro could not have asked for a better ending to his second campaign in the Bucs hot seat as he successfully defended both the MTN8 and Nedbank Cup crowns.
