Orlando Pirates are now officially the new cup kings of South African football following their 2-1 win over Mamelodi Sundowns in the Nedbank Cup final on Saturday afternoon.
Patrick Maswanganyi’s and Relebohile Mofokeng’s goals were enough to see the Buccaneers retain the Nedbank Cup at the Mbombela Stadium. Having won the MTN8 cup earlier this season, Jose Riveiro’s men were looking to add to that when they faced a strong Sundowns team.
Orlando Pirates finding it easy to win cups these days
Masandawana’s team consisted of six Bafana Bafana stars and were favourites going into Saturday’s game. Rulani Mokwena’s troops started the game well and were all over the Buccaneers in the first 15 minutes. Sundowns were awarded a penalty early on but Sipho Chaine impressively saved Lucas Ribeiro’s effort.
Pirates managed to absorb the pressure and began creating chances of their own as the game went on.
Having beaten Sundowns when the two teams met in the MTN8 cup, Orlando Pirates felt confident after halftime, but the Brazilians opened the scoring. Ribeiro’s good skills saw him pass Bucs defenders to provide a cutback for Thema Zwane, who found the back of the net. The Buccaneers hit back 17 minutes later when Maswanganyi converted from the spot.
Just when it looked like the teams were heading into extra time, Mofokeng scored a sublime goal to give Orlando Pirates their second Nedbank Cup in two seasons. Having beaten Masandawana in the MTN8, the Buccaneers have once again shown their superiority over the rivals in the cup finals.
Sea Robbers retain the Nedbank Cup trophy against Sundowns
With five trophies in four years, Orlando Pirates are now undisputed cup kings in SA football. The ‘title’ was once held by Kaizer Chiefs for almost three decades. The Buccaneers broke the curse in 2011 when they won a treble. Since 2010, Orlando Pirates have won 10 domestic cups and two league titles.
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