ORLANDO Pirates advanced to the Nedbank Cup semifinals.
Image: Itumeleng English
SUPERSPORT United (1) 2
Dzvukamanhja 42
Moralo 90+2
ORLANDO PIRATES (2) 2
Mbokazi 28 Makgopa 45+1
Pirates win 5-4 (PEN)
OLD PETER MOKABA STADIUM - THE unprecedented hat-trick of Nedbank Cup victories remains a reality as Orlando Pirates marched on to the penultimate stage of the country’s premier club knockout football competition.
Pirates eked out a hard-fought 5-4 win via the shoot-out, following a 2-2 draw, in front of a huge partisan crowd on Saturday night in Polokwane that cheered their every move and played a crucial role as a 12th man to ensure that Jose Riveiro and his men can still defend the title they have won in the previous two seasons.
Youngster Mbekezeli Mbokazi scored his first goal at senior level while hometown favourite Evidence Makgopa netted the winner while Terrence Dzvukamanja and Gape Moralo scored for SuperSport.
In the shoot-out, Goodman Mosela netted the winner after Philip Ndlondlo had his kick saved by Ricardo Goss while Sipho Chaine denied both Vincent Pule and Christian Saile.
While they did well in the shoot-out and Goss particularly in extra time, this match further illustrated the serious goalkeeping problem the country is faced with.
In an exciting first half which saw the two teams going at each other, calamitous goalkeeping punctuated the stanza and no doubt must have left Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos pulling at the silver strands on his head.
With the country lamenting the lack of goalkeeping talent as the majority of Premiership clubs are reliant on foreigners, Sipho Chaine and Ricardo Goss further highlighted the plight with schoolboy errors that cost their teams goals.
The two are members of the national team where they are waiting on the wings to take over from current incumbent Ronwen Williams. But they inspired no confidence here on Saturday.
With his team seemingly headed for the break enjoying a 1-0 lead after Mbekezeli Mbokazi had opened the scoring on 28 minutes, Chaine incredulously allowed SuperSport back into the match with a decision so bizarre it would have shamed even a Sunday morning park footballer.
An innocuous looking punt from the SuperSport end appeared set to be cleared by the Buccaneers defenders, but Chaine rushed off his line only to succeed in punching thin air.
Terence Dzvukamanja gleefully accepted the gift to slot home the equaliser as Chaine sheepishly apologised to his teammates.
Suddenly, Andre Arendse – who had spent a significant time of the half standing like a worried observer in the technical area – was all bouncy as he cajoled his team, no doubt relieved his team talk was not going to be about how to stage a comeback.
But then Ricardo Goss turned it all around as he emulated Chaine albeit it he being indecisive – the SuperSport number one going off his line to try meet a cross-field long and high ball from the left side.
He stopped in his tracks to try and retreat, thus allowing Mohau Nkota time and space to deliver a pass from which Evidence Makgopa restored Pirates’ lead.
Chaine celebrated the goal with the enthusiasm of a man who’s just had his blushes saved although – that equaliser calamity notwithstanding – the Bucs number one had proven his worth in the first minute of the match when he blocked a low shot by Gamphani Lungu.
Nkota then hoofed the ball over on 26 minutes to spoil a brilliant and promising move by the visitors as the game see-sawed from one end to the other, SuperSport’s Enoch Quaicoe shooting the ball across the face of the Pirates goal thereafter.
Pirates, perhaps disappointed that shots from range did not yield the required outcome, then attempted to walk the ball into the net with no less than three of their players making passes inside the box.
This ploy too, did not work.
They eventually came right as Mbokazi slammed home a loose ball from inside the box after SuperSport half cleared a long and high ball from the right side of the field.
It was the youngster’s first goal in senior football in a season when Pirates are showing that age is not an issue as long as a player is capable.
And he came off to rapturous applause from the Ghost late in the match as Jose Riveiro tightened up in a bid to secure the victory which only materialised in the shoot-out to see the Buccaneers just two matches away from making Nedbank Cup history.