On a very cold Saturday night Soccer city was packed with over 92 000 people as the Soweto giants, the Buccaneers and the Phefeni Glamour Boys went head to head for the Carling Black Label Cup final. It was one of the most depressing and traumatising losses for Kaizer Chiefs as they led by 1-0 the entire game but dropped the ball on the last minutes of the added time.” Ezimnyama Ngenkani” did it again and it looks like their main rivals will remain silent until the PSL double treble champs themselves say it’s enough!
I have to salute Mr Irvin Khoza for building up such a strong team, he has managed to keep Chiefs fans silent for the last couple of seasons, though he has again sadly made lots of people lose interest in soccer and today we see few people walking around the streets of Jozi proudly wearing their gold and black jerseys and come across massive numbers in black, white and red.
Unlike other cups the fans selected the starting line-up of the two teams, as well as a substitution to be made on the 50-minute of the game.
The line-ups were:
Kaizer Chiefs : Khune, Gaxa, Mashamaite, Gould, Jambo, Letsholonyane, Nale, Dladla, Lebese, Majoro, Parker
Orlando Pirates : Josephs, Mahamutsa, Matlaba, Lekgwathi, Sangweni, Jali, Myeni, Manyisa, McCarthy, Mbuyane, Mayambela
The first opportunity for the Buccaneers fell into Benni McCarthy in the opening few minutes from a build-up play by Thulasizwe Mbuyane, but was unsuccessful as it went straight to Chiefs goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune.
Immediately after that Nale put the Glamour Boys in the lead by finding the back of the net from a ball coming from George Lebese.
Mayambela was pulled at halftime for Daine Klate and shortly afterwards both fans unexpectedly voted to change goalkeepers, Khune and Moeneeb Josephs on the Pirates side being replaced by Arthur Bartman and Senzo Meyiwa which was the biggest mistake for Chiefs.
It was quite a promising game for the Glamour Boys but then, never ever say you are done with Orlando Pirates until the referee blows the whistle saying the game is over. With Chiefs still leading by 1-0, 6 minutes were added on and that is when McCarthy scored an equaliser that sent the match to penalties. Both teams had an opportunity to shoot-out five penalties which led to Orlando Pirates winning the game by 5-4. At that moment Naturena camp went quiet as if they had been hit by a Tsunami with the Buccaneers on the other hand loudly singing “Khosi sijoyine.” McCarthy’s last minute goal did not only maintain Orlando Pirates Championship title but also confirmed that they still going to rule the world of soccer.
Penalty sequence: Letsholonyane scored, Mahamutsa scored; Motaung Jnr scored, Manyisa scored; Dladla scored, Klate scored; Nkosi missed, McCarthy saved; Nkhatha scored, Sangweni scored; Ritchie saved, Gcaba missed; Zvasiya saved, Mabena scored
Yes,”Orlando Pirates is not 1 skipper and you must like it for the Pirates” said Goodenough.
Shaapa Buccaneer, Shaaapa. Shapa Buccaneer Shapaaaa.
