Orlando Pirates have put themselves into the semifinals of the MTN8 after they defeated hosts Royal AM 2-1 at the Chatsworth Stadium on Saturday evening.
The Buccaneers joined AmaZulu in the final four thanks to a hard-working performance, led by goals from Vincent Pule and Thabiso Monyane. Thwihli Thwahla, meanwhile, will feel they deserved more from their MTN8 debut, but were unable to convert their dominance of possession into a steady stream of scoring chances.
Pirates got off to a flying start and claimed the lead in just the third minute of the match: Deon Hotto’s high press resulted in a turn over of possession, with the ball falling kindly for Vincent Pule and he duly drove home a low, left-footed shot to put the visitors 1-0 up.
The Soweto side should have doubled their lead on the quarter hour mark when another turnover of possession high up the field saw Pule look to go around Ricardo Nascimento – only for the Brazilian to cynically pull him down – but the ball fell perfectly for Bienvenu Eva Nga to sweep home with the right foot, only to shoot straight at goalkeeper Xolani Ngcobo.
Royal then had a chance to level the game when some poor defending from the visitors allowed a ball to drop for Motebang Sera in the 18-yard area, but the attacker ballooned an effort over the target from close range.
The propensity for glaring misses continued in the 35th minute when Zakhele Lepasa, after being unselfishly teed up by Eva Nga, missed out on two consecutive chances – both of which should have been buried in the back of the net.
The half ended with the Buccaneers still 1-0 up, though Thwihli Thwahla had been building pressure, and looked to shift the momentum even more in their direction with the introductions of Jabulani Ncobeni and Mfundo Thikazi at the start of the second stanza.
Further changes saw Mxolisi Machupu and Khetukuthula Ndlovu come on for the hosts, but Pirates doubled their lead on 55 minutes through right wingback Thabiso Monyane, whose low shot should have been comfortably saved by Ngcobo, but was allowed to squeeze over the goal line for 2-0.
Royal, however, hit back almost immediately, with Thikazi cutting inside from the right and striking the post with a dipping shot, allowing Shaune Mogaila to turn home the rebound and halve the deficit.
Former Pirates wingback Thabo Matlaba nearly made it 2-2 with just over 10 minutes of regulation time to play, letting fly with a long-range effort which had goalkeeper Richard Ofori worried but flashed just over the crossbar.
Thwihli Thwahla pushed hard for an equaliser in the dying stages, but the Buccaneers were able to hold out and secure a ticket to the semis. The match also concluded on something of a sour note, with both Goodman Mosele and Ndlovu being sent off in injury time for an unnecessary scuffle.
Royal AM (0) 1 (Mogaila 58’)
Orlando Pirates (1) 2 (Pule 3’, Monyane 55’)
Royal: Ngcobo, Mogaila, Nascimento (Pelembe 82’), Manganyi, Matlaba, Mahlasela, Phalane (Ncobeni 46’), Kobedi, Sera (Machupu 55’), De Jong (Ndlovu 54’), Stoffels (Thikazi 46’)
Pirates: Ofori, Ndah, Sibisi, Maela, Monyane (Shandu 85’), Mosele, Timm, Hotto (Mako 67’), Pule (Peprah 85’), Lepasa (Makaringe 85’), Eva Nga (Motshwari 59’)
SOURCED FROM THE PSL WEBSITE.
