Orlando Pirates suffered a shock exit from the Carling Knockout Cup, going down 3-2 to Magesi in a dramatic Round of 16 clash at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.
A spirited first-half display from the tournament debutants left the Buccaneers reeling, leaving them with an uphill climb and ultimately sealing their early departure from the competition.
It was however the visitors who were up against it during the early exchanges as the home side enjoyed most of the possession. Pirates meanwhile could not take full advantage of their initial dominance with Magesi goalkeeper Elvis Chipezeze untroubled for the most part.
Chances fell to Tshegofatso Mabasa and Karim Kimvuidi in the opening 15 minutes, but both players failed to direct the ball on target. Kimvuidi had another bite at the cherry moments after his first opportunity, this time drawing an easy save from the visiting shot-stopper.
Shots continued to fly from the Buccaneers with Mabasa and Monnapule Saleng each firing off target just before the half-hour mark. This was moments before the tide turned, as Dikwena tša Meetse found the decisive touch in the 32nd minute.
The breakthrough came against the run of play with Delano Abrahams finding himself in oodles of space on the right before nodding home to make it 1-0. It only took the visitors seven minutes to double the lead, with their second goal coming in rather fortuitous fashion as Thabiso Sesane turned the ball into his own net while attempting to deal with a ball from out wide.
Things went from bad to worse for the Buccaneers, as they conceded a penalty after Deolin Mekoa was deemed to have been fouled inside the box. Edmore Chirambadare stepped up to take the spot kick but was denied by Bucs keeper Sipho Chaine, the Zimbabwean was however lucky with the rebound with the ball landing back in his path, and he made no mistake in making it 3-0 at the stroke of halftime.
Faced with plenty of ground to cover in the second half, the Soweto Giants introduced fresh legs in the form of Mohau Nkota who made his way to the field just before the second-half restart. The teenager was quickly involved as he brought out the best in Chipezeze with a firmly struck left-footed shot.
His battle with the shot-stopper continued in the 57th minute when he was denied from close range. Mabasa also went close just moments later, firing at goal from just in front only to rattle the crossbar.
The Buccaneers continued looking to reduce the deficit and could have done so from a free kick taken by Dlamini who sent his effort on target but was denied by Chipezeze. With four minutes remaining on the clock, the midfielder was however able to breathe life into the contest as he beat the Magesi keeper from long range to cut the deficit down to two.
A grandstand finish was set up three minutes later as Evidence Makgopa fired in from inside the box, with his shot deflected out of Chipezeze’s reach to make it 3-2.
The drama continued until deep into injury time when Nkota appeared to have sent the game into extra time with a late strike. However, the goal did not count as he was adjudged offside.
That proved to be Pirates’ last real chance as they had left themselves with too much to do, bowing out on the first hurdle of the Carling Knockout.
Pirates XI: Chaine, Sesane, Sibisi, Van Rooyen, Hotto, Rasebotja (Maswanganyi 59’), Dlamini, Saleng (Nkota 46’), Mofokeng, Kimvuidi (Makgopa 59’), Mabasa.
