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Deon Hotto produced a Man of the Match performance to help the Buccaneers reach the MTN8 final for the first time since 2014
The Orlando Pirates posted a comfortable 2-0 win over Kaizer Chiefs in the second leg of the MTN8 semi-final at FNB Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Fortune Makaringe opened the scoring when she scored her second goal in the Soweto Derby before Linda Mntambo sealed the victory for the Bucs that day and they won the semifinal tie 5-0 on aggregate.
Amakhosi had hoped to reverse a 3-0 deficit after being limited to a 0-0 draw by TS Galaxy in a Premier Soccer League (PSL) match midweek.
Coach Gavin Hunt made three changes to the team that faced the Galaxy with Yagan Sasman, Anthony Akumu and Leonardo Castro, all returning to the starting lineup.
While the Buccaneers were looking to avoid a loss to reach the final following their 1-0 win over Bloemfontein Celtic in a PSL game on Wednesday.
Coach Josef Zinnbauer, who had returned from Germany, also made three changes to the team facing Celtic with Thulani Hlatshwayo, Fortune Makaringe and Deon Hotto, all returning to the starting lineup.
The Chiefs pressured the Pirates early on as they looked to score an early goal that could have upset the Bucs’ defense.
However, the Buccaneers’ bottom line was solid and compact, as Zinnbauer had deployed three central midfielders, Motshwari, Monare and Makaringe right in front of the defense.
Amakhosi suffered a severe blow when influential right-back Reeve Frosler was injured and was replaced by Siphelele Ntshangase in the 23rd minute of play.
The momentum was with the Pirates after the cooldown break with Makaringe firing a shot in the face of the goal, before Vincent Pule hit the side net with a powerful shot.
However, it was the Chiefs who finished the stronger half of the two sides and had a chance to score after goalkeeper Richard Ofori failed to hit the ball out of harm’s way.
The ball fell for Parker in the box, but Monare cleared his effort and the score was 0-0 at interval with the Pirates leading 3-0 on aggregate.
It was somewhat end-to-end after the restart with Zakhele Lepasa bursting into the Chiefs ‘area, before taking a direct shot at Daniel Akpeyi on the hosts’ goal posts.
Almost immediately at the other end, Ntshangase watched in disbelief as his effort beat Ofori, but the crossbar came to the Pirates’ rescue and they cleared their lines.
The deadlock was broken in the 59th minute after a quick counterattack with Akpeyi stopping Deon Hotto’s low effort on the way to Makaringe and the midfielder scored with a simple touch to make the Pirates 1-0.
Hunt responded by introducing Lebogang Lesako and Nkosingiphile Ngcobo, and the Glamor Boys advanced in numbers but were left vulnerable in the back with Bucs launching quick counterattacks.
It was soon 2-0 for Pirates when Man of the Match Hotto was sent on goal and set up second-half substitute Linda Mntambo, who made Pirates 2-0 with 10 minutes to go.
The Chiefs were cut down to 10 players in injury time when Erick Mathoho received his second yellow card, and eventually the Pirates emerged 2-0 winners on the day.
As a result, the Pirates will now face Bloemfontein Celtic in the final on December 12 after winning the semifinal tie 5-0 on aggregate when the Chiefs withdrew from the tournament.
