Sunday | October 20, 2024
Magesi Football Club (FC), the Premier Soccer League (PSL) rookies, stunned Orlando Pirates FC out of the Carling Knockout Cup at Orlando Stadium on Saturday, Oct.19.
The newly promoted side beat Pirates with a massive cup pedigree 3-2 in the round of 16.
Inspired by the underdogs’ status, they drew first blood with a well-taken knockdown header from Delano Abraham’s in the 32nd minute.
Although their celebration of the 1-0 head start gave them something to cheer about, Clinton Larson’s brave troops were not overwhelmed by it. And they did not hold back. Swelling with confidence, they surged forward and were rewarded with the second resulting from an own goal (39’) by Thabiso Sesane.
The hosts were trailing 2-0. Panic sat in. Orlando Stadium was shocked with the brazen display of these new dreamers.
Larson, who is a well-known coach in the PSL circles, put the final nail in Pirates confin Edmore Chirambadare (45+4’) just before the first half break.
Jose Riveiro, the Orlando Pirates coach, watched helplessly from the dugout.
But upon return from the dressing room at halftime, he got his fighting back message across the Buccaneers.
Although Pirates looked more purposeful in the second half, goals were elusive. Magesi’s defensive strategy held together.
Not surprisingly, the Buccaneers pulled one back. With the hosts piling on pressure relentlessly, it had to break at some point. It was Kabelo Dlamini’s leftfoot stunner in the 86th minute that gave them a glimmer of hope; however slightest.
The scoreline was 3-1 at this stage and still, time was not on the Buccaneers. Even so, they pressed on nonetheless.
Magesi was just kicking the ball away to eat seconds on the clock. Just a minute from regulation time, Evidence Makgoba made it 3-2 to send this Cup tie to a thrilling end.
For a moment it seemed the ambitious Magesi players’ hopes of testing their first victory in a knockout competition at elite level were slipping away.
But when the final whistle sounded, they breathed a collective of relief.The entire Orlando Stadium was in utter disbelief as the PSL rookies wrestled the Soweto giants to deck with a fatal blow.
Ultimately, Magesi looked unnerved by a legion of the Pirates fans as they clobbered the lights out of their opponents yesterday. They dazzled Orlando Pirates and danced their way into the quarterfinals of the Carling Cup.
Friday, Oct. 18 Carling Knockout Cup Results:
AmaZulu FC 1-2 Stellenbosch FC
Saturday, Oct. 19 Carling Knockout Cup Results:
Cape Town City FC 3-0 Royal AMMamelodi Sundowns FC 5-0 Lamontville Golden Arrows FC SuperSport United FC 0-4 Kaizer Chiefs FCPolokwane City FC 2-3 Marumo Gallants FC
Sunday, Oct. 20 Carling Knockout Cup Results:
TS Galaxy FC 1-0 Chippa United FCRichards Bay FC 1-0 Sekhukhune United FC
Carling Knockout Cup Quarterfinals:
Kaizer Chiefs FC vs Mamelodi Sundowns FC
TS Galaxy FC vs Magesi FC
Richards Bay United FC vs Cape Town City FC
Marumo Gallants FC vs Stellenbosch FC