No clean sweep! Orlando Pirates sink in Nedbank Cup shoot-out agaist Casric Stars

ORLANDO PIRATES 0

CASRIC STARS 0

Stars win 5-4 via shoot-out from the penalty spot

ORLANDO AMSTEL ARENA — THERE WILL BE no clean sweep! There will be no repeat of 1973. There will be no new Buccaneer legends.

Orlando Pirates’ dream of winning everything on offer in the country’s elite league dissipated in the cold Orlando air via a 5-4 penalty-shootout defeat to Motsepe Foundation Championship side Casric Stars.

Top of the Betway Premiership table and having won both the MTN8 and Carling Knockout trophies, talk among the Pirates faithful was of this current team joining the Class of ’73, which won the BP Top 8, the Life Challenge Cup, and the NPSL league title under coach Tony Sanderson.

The phrase ‘Operation Vat Alles’ was bandied about as the fans spoke of the likes of Rele Mofokeng and Nkosinathi Sibisi adding their names alongside those of Jomo Sono and Shakes Mashaba.

The Pirates fans started the match in high spirits, celebrating Mamelodi Sundowns’ defeat at TS Galaxy by brandishing placards that read, ‘Thank You Galaxy for sorting the country out,’ while mockingly chanting Sundowns songs. They did not know they too were to be silenced—ironically by a team from Mpumalanga, just as their rivals had been earlier on.

Pirates dominated the game and should have won. But late in the match, with the board indicating that four minutes of added time would be played, Pirates nearly put an end to the encounter as a contest with a cleverly conceptualised free kick on the edge of the box.

Oswin Appollis played the ball short to Tshepang Moremi on the left side of the box to catch the Casric defence napping, as they were clearly anticipating the blonde winger to take a shot at goal. Moremi could only watch in disbelief as his shot beat Tshigwana Mthombeni, only to ricochet off the upright.

There had been many such near misses for the Buccaneers throughout the 90 minutes in which they dominated play and possession. In the first half, Mofokeng forced a fantastic save from Mthombeni with a splendid drive from outside the box, but the Casric goalkeeper did well to parry the ball over after 24 minutes. Andre de Jong then failed to connect with a good cutback by Moremi; the New Zealander’s sliding effort just missing the ball.

Mthombeni then did well in the second half to keep his team in it, pulling off a good save to deny De Jong after he had spilled a Mofokeng shot. There was a chance for Deon Hotto late on; the Namibian getting behind the defender on the left to receive the ball, but his attempt went across the face of goal and out near the far post.

While Pirates played on the front foot for most of the match, Casric did have their moments. It was actually they who asked the first question with the game barely a minute old: Mlungisi Zwane shot from range, only for the ball to whistle inches wide of the goal, though Sipho Chaine had it covered.

Casric then had a big throw-in from the right side which Pirates failed to clear properly, and striker Simon Fils Ndoh Moukete shot the ball across the face of goal. The big Cameroonian was troublesome throughout and did well just before the half-hour mark to turn away from Nkosinathi Sibisi, but then shot over with Chaine at his mercy.

The penalty shootout see-sawed and, incredulously, the two players that Casric had brought on specifically for the kicks — Manqoba Oezomane and Mfundo Thikazi — missed theirs, while Sibisi, Chabatsane, and Ndaba fluffed their efforts for the Buccaneers.