Orlando Pirates cantered into the next round of the MTN8 with a 2-0 win in their quarter-final clash against Polokwane City at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.
The result set up a fourth consecutive last-four appearance for the Soweto Giants, who continue to stretch their dominant spell in the competition.
Kicking off yet another MTN8 title defence at the spiritual home of South African football, it wasn’t long before the Buccaneers asserted themselves. The combination of Deon Hotto and Oswin Appollis provided their first two chances, both coming through crosses whipped in from the left flank by the Namibian international. He managed to find the ex-City winger on each occasion, but the visitors were twice able to prevent a clear path at goal.
Pressure remained on the Limpopo side for much of the opening 10 minutes, and the breakthrough proved imminent. It came off the boot of a player familiar to the opposition in Appollis, who beneffied off a defence-splitting pass from fellow debutant Sihle Nduli with striker Boitumelo Radiopane also getting a touch before the Bafana winger finished past Brian Bwire.
A nervy moment deep inside the Bucs half in the 25th minute threatened to pull Rise and Shine back level, but goalkeeper Sipho Chaine was able to recover and make a fairly comfortable save. Unforced errors remained the source of the visitors’ brightest moments, but they weren’t able to capitalise.
A blunder of their own deep in their half proved to be their undoing as Appollis continued to be a thorn on their side. He was brought down inside the box with the referee not hesitating in pointing to the spot.
Patrick Maswanganyi was the man to step up to the spot and he had no issue placing the ball into the back of the net to send Pirates two up with 10 minutes remaining before the break.
The Bucs defence rebuffed City’s attempts at pulling one back in the remainder of the opening period.
The scoreline stayed unchanged when the halftime whistle sounded, but it was the Limpopo outfit that made most of the running early in the second period with Nduli and Mbekezeli Mbokazi both drawn into desperate clearances inside the box.
Momentum was soon back in Pirates favour as Bandile Shandu fired wide after excellent work from deep by Radiopane. This was before an even closer call after the hour mark, which came via a set piece taken by Hotto who struck the crossbar with a well-taken shot from a fair distance out.
Substitute forward Tshepang Moremi was just inches away from a goal on debut late on, with Bwire positioned perfectly to make a save. Another debutant gave the sell-out crowd a reason to get off their seats soon after as Yanela Mbuthuma’s on-target effort was turned away just before crossing the whitewash.
None of the close calls proved costly, with the defending champions maintaining a dominant display on their first competitive outing. It proved enough to seal their spot in the semis as they continued their search for an unprecedented fourth successive MTN8 title.
Pirates XI: Chaine, Sibisi, Mbokazi, Shandu, Hotto, Nduli (Dansin 83’) , Mbule (Mariko 69’), Maswanganyi (Dlamini 69’), Mofokeng, Appollis (Moremi 59’), Radi
