Pirates retain MTN8 title after defeating Sundowns on penalties

Orlando Pirates retained the MTN8 title after defeating Mamelodi Sundowns 3-1 on penalties in the final at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday night.

The match had ended with a 0-0 draw after 120 minutes.

Jose Riveiro made three changes from his side’s last outing against Jwaneng Galaxy in the CAF Champions League. He took off Thabiso Monyane, Ndabayithethwa Ndlondlo and Paseka Mako for Bandile Shandu, Miguel Timm and Monnapule Saleng.

On the other hand, Rulani Mokwena made six changes from their line-up against Bumamuru FC. He pulled out Denis Onyango, Mosa Lebusa, Bongani Zungu, Thapelo Maseko, Lebohang Maboe and Lucas Ribeiro. He brought back Ronwen Williams, Abdelmounaim Boutouil, Rivaldo Coetzee, Marcelo Allende, Neo Maema and Peter Shalulile.

THE ROAD TO FINAL

In the quarterfinals, the Buccaneers hammered Sekhukhune United with a 5-0 scoreline while the Brazilians defeated Moroka Swallows with a slender 1-0 victory.

Meanwhile, Pirates secured the spot in the final with an away goal advantage following a 2-2 stalemate against Stellenbosch FC in a two-legged clash. On the other side, Sundowns eliminated Kaizer Chiefs after an overall score of 3-2.

The match started with the wind blowing in favour of Pirates, however, in spite of that, Sundowns seemed to be pushing them back to their half.

In the 4th minute, Sipho Chaine made a fantastic save, denying Themba Zwane a clear-cut chance after Nkosinathi Sibisi had made a back pass to Thapelo Xoki who couldn’t reach the ball.

Moments later, Williams committed an error at the back, holding the ball for the second time after he had put it down. The Buccaneers were awarded an indirect free-kick but failed to score.

Pirates started to get their foothold in the game and produced scary moments when reaching their final third. 

In the 28th minute, Shalulile wasted a golden chance, failing to put the free header in the back of the net after he was located by Mudau in the box.

NKOSINATHI SIBISI’S INJURY

Just like in last season’s final, Sibisi couldn’t finish the first half as he suffered an injury and was replaced by Olisa Ndah.

The match reached the interval with a 0-0 scoreline on the board.

There weren’t much of opportunities in the opening exchanges of the second stanza with both sides not finding space in attack. A few minutes later, Mamelodi Sundowns started to pick up as the wind was then in their favour.

However, at times, Ezimnyama Ngenkani still found their rhythm and made a couple of box entries. In the 74th minute, Shalulile came close to breaking the deadlocks when he made a sharp turn inside the box and fired a shot. However, his attempt went over the bar.

The match went to extra time after the 90 minutes ended with a goalless draw.

Inside the first half of the extra 30 minutes, Sundowns had two penalty appeals but their cries fell on deaf ears of Abongile Tom. The game went on until the referee blew the whistle to send the game to the penalty shootout.

Chaine saved three penalties and conceded one to help his side defend the MTN8 title.

RELATED STORY: Sundowns or Pirates? Ex-Sundowns defender predicts MTN8 final