Orlando Pirates overcame Chippa United 3-1 on Saturday afternoon at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, securing their spot in the Nedbank Cup final early next month. The Buccaneers, the competition’s defending winners, gave themselves a chance to become the first back-to-back national cup champions since SuperSport United in 2015–16 and 2016–17 with two goals apiece from Kabelo Dlamini.With the victory, Pirates have maintained their excellent recent performance, winning six straight games in all competitions and scoring 21 goals.
Due to a huge number of fans still attempting to enter the stadium at 3 p.m., the kickoff was delayed. Within the first thirty seconds, Tshegofatso Mabasa had a chance to take the lead, but Chippa goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali denied him from close range. Nevertheless, Kabelo Dlamini’s incredible attempt from a free kick in the fourth minute gave the Soweto team the lead. The ball sank into the bottom corner of the net, leaving Nwabali glued to the spot on the goal line.
In the seventh minute, Chippa attempted a swift counterattack with a free kick of their own, but Brooklyn Poggenpoel’s shot went over the crossbar. After a moment, Deon Hotto took an inadvertent kick to the head, forcing the Buccaneers to make an unscheduled substitute. Innocent Maela took Deon Hotto’s place. After 20 minutes, Chippa made a strong attempt to reenter the game and created several offensive possibilities, but just before halftime, Pirates struck once more to seize complete control of the game.
Dlamini’s second goal of the game came from a pull-back from the right by-line, given by Patrick Maswanganyi. Chippa objected to Maswanganyi’s infraction in the build-up, which caused his marker to Although Justice Chabalala raised his hand and essentially stopped the game, television replays revealed that the Pirates had every right to carry on with their attack. In an effort to get back into the game, both teams made substitutions at the beginning of the second half. The Pirates introduced Miguel Timm, and Chippa substituted Elmo Kambindu and Papama Tyongwana.
And Kambindu duly responded in the 63rd minute, diving to score from close range after a superb assist from Bienvenu Eva Nga from the right of the penalty box, cutting the lead to 1-2. However, Thapelo Xoki’s athletic and improvised finish at the back post after meeting Maswanganyi’s in-swinging cross from the right in the 81st minute ended the Chilli Boys’ chances of a spectacular comeback, making it 3-1. In the 89th minute, Eva Nga was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for arguing with the referee, leaving the hosts down to 10 men. The Nedbank Cup final between Pirates and either Stellenbosch FC or Mamelodi Sundowns will take place on Saturday, June 1 at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit.
