Orlando Pirates played to an entertaining 1-1 draw in the first leg of their MTN8 semi-final
clash against Cape Town City on Wednesday evening , the result at DHL Stadium sets up a mouth-watering deciding leg at Orlando Stadium with the Buccaneers heading home with a slight advantage after picking up a crucial away goal on the road.
They looked to assert themselves immediately after the first whistle, seamlessly working their way into opposition territory where they spent much of the game’s early exchanges. Notable opportunities at goal were however rare throughout the first 10 minutes with the hosts managing to keep the Buccaneers out of the final third.
Their resolute defence was eventually breached as the two sides only remained level for 15 minutes. The crucial breakthrough was provided by Relebohile Mofokeng, who got ahold of a lovely ball from deep before cutting inside from the left and firing through goalkeeper Darren Keet, who managed to get a hand on the ball but could not stop it from crossing the line. City hit back with a determined attack which yielded their first real attempt at Sipho Chaine’s goal, but the Bucs shot-stopper proved equal to the task as he displayed excellent reflexes in keeping out a powerfully-struck shot from Prins Tjiueza.
He followed it up with another brilliant stop in the 24th minute, this time denying Darwin Gonzales who had gotten on the end of a cross from Jaedin Rhodes. Mofokeng looked to double his tally at the other end, launching an attack from the flank as he did to put Pirates ahead, but could only fire wide this time around.
The home side could have had the final say in the opening period as they went close through Rhodes, who was fouled by Chaine. A combination of sustained pressure brought on by City and unforced errors kept the Buccaneers pinned inside their own half throughout the early part of the second period.
The home side had opportunities to draw level foiled by the defensive pair of Thabiso Sesane
and Olisa Ndah, while Chaine remained steady behind the sticks. It took an unlucky touch to break past the shot-stopper’s defence as City equalised after the hour mark when Rhodes’ effort from the edge of the box caught a deflection that guided it into the net. The men from the Cape maintained their tempo, with the battle between Rhodes and Chaine continuing in the 66th minute as the City attacker drew another save from the Bucs keeper.
Despite sustained pressure from the hosts, Pirates managed to push forward late in the contest before Deon Hotto fired a shot at goal from a tight angle, but Keet had his near post covered. It remained level at the end of 90 minutes, with the two side set to battle it out once more in the deciding leg in Soweto on Saturday.
