Kaizer Chiefs 1-2 Orlando Pirates: Nedbank Cup semi-final, 6 May, FNB Stadium
Last Saturday, Orlando Pirates ended a run of five consecutive defeats in the Soweto Derby. In his first season in charge, coach Jose Riveiro has reached a second cup final having lifted the MTN8 in November 2022. After the Spaniard called the first derby of this season "boring", this one was anything but dull. Whilst the last showpiece was settled by a defender coming off the bench to score an own goal, this one was decided by a defender entering the action to score in the correct net. We had plenty of raised eyebrows when the starting XIs were announced, some clever in-game alterations, no red cards or penalties and another year without silverware for Kaizer Chiefs. It will be at least five or six months until their next opportunity, by which time it will be almost eight-and-a-half years since a trophy was held aloft at Naturena! In this big-game review, Soccer Laduma takes a look at how the match played out, the key stats, whether Riveiro won the tactical battle or their arch-rivals had only themselves to blame for missed chances. As with every loss for a club of Amakhosi's size, there will be an inquest and question marks over their relatively inexperienced coach. Are they on the right track? And can Bucs make it a domestic cup double later this month? Soccer Laduma delves deeply into the derby delight and despair.
Big Surprises Pre-Match!
For these big games, the match almost starts one hour before kick off when the starting XIs are announced. Both teams would have received the official team sheet and been surprised by a couple of selections from the opposition. The technical teams would have studied the personnel selected and tried to formulate a prediction of how their opponents may play. For Kaizer Chiefs, the first bit of team news was the return of Edmilson Dove at centre-back after two games out. Njabulo Ngcobo had been deputising in that position, but Arthur Zwane would have been relieved to have the left-footed Mozambican available again. The first real surprise in the XI was that Samkelo Zwane was handed a start. Although he recently started four matches in a row – against Stellenbosch FC, Marumo Gallants, Royal AM in the Nedbank Cup quarterfinal and against Sekhukhune United – it was still a mild shock. Credit to the coach, he certainly isn't afraid to start young players in the biggest matches. Further forward, three pretty important players were all absent in Khama Billiat, Keagan Dolly and Nkosingiphile Ngcobo. All three of those players have made key contributions in recent Soweto Derby victories and their absences left the Glamour Boys with far fewer options. Having lost Dolly in the defeat to Sekhukhune, Happy Mashiane was given the nod to start the matches against Chippa United and Swallows FC. For this one, Dillan Solomons was selected on the right, with Christian Saile down the left. The only other time we've seen Solomons revert to his original role as a winger was in the 4-0 loss to Mamelodi Sundowns at the start of the season. For the Buccaneers, the team selection only had one surprise, but it was a really significant one. With Thembinkosi Lorch out injured and Vincent Pule not back to full match fitness, it was expected that Deon Hotto would play down the left. Instead, Jose Riveiro gave Kermit Erasmus a start. The pint-sized attacker has not played much recent football with one start in the league in eight matches prior to the midweek draw with Royal AM. Even when the line-up came out, many would have predicted that Terrence Dzvukamanja would play in a wide role, something very familiar to him, with Kabelo Dlamini as the number 10. It was instead a 4-4-2 with two forwards who could drop off. At times, Pirates pressed with a front four and went man-to-man with their archrivals' defence. It was a brave set-up. Whereas Chiefs played an extra central midfielder to try to control the game, Riveiro's men actually played one fewer man in the engine room. The Spaniard also played two strikers in the first derby of this season, so he clearly thinks Amakhosi are vulnerable defensively! He didn't get the selection right on that day, but we so often decide whether a tactical change was correct by the end result, rightly or wrongly, and the fact that Erasmus scored within 14 minutes means this was a clever alteration and risk to take.
How The Goals Were Conceded
In literally every big match, we spend most of our time looking forensically at how the goals were scored and conceded. It gives us an idea of where the mistakes were in the various units of the team as well as seeing if any individual players may need to shoulder some of the blame.
1-Kermit Erasmus 13:36
For this first goal, there are many errors from Chiefs on an individual and team level. Pirates are enjoying a long spell of pressure in the opposition half. Bandile Shandu runs off Saile and Sifiso Hlanti has to come across to concede a throw-in. Bucs take it quickly and work the ball backwards. At this stage, Kabelo Dlamini is completely unmarked at the back post with Reeve Frosler tight to Erasmus. Siyabonga Ngezana is marking no one because he is focused on Dzvukamanja, who is staying in an area where it is very difficult to pick him up. Once the throw is taken, Monnapule Saleng makes a lovely third man run on the blind side of Saile. The Congolese forward never looked comfortable with his defensive duties as a left winger. It is unrealistic to ask him to track Saleng, but he needs to pass him on. Unfortunately, Hlanti is still out on the touchline and hasn't tucked in, creating a large gap between him and Dove. Saleng receives a lovely Miguel Timm pass in a dangerous shooting position. Dove immediately knows what sort of punch Saleng can pack, so he blocks the inside and shows him the outside. Frosler has, meanwhile, seen the back pass on the throw-in as a cue to step out and move towards Dlamini. With Ngezana trying to read a cut back from Saleng to Dzvukamanja on the edge of the box, he can't cut out the crossing line and Erasmus is totally free to tuck home. The biggest issue here was Hlanti not recovering narrow ASAP, no Chiefs midfielder picking up Dzvukamanja and Ngezana being left to grab at an invisible Ghost. We did say in our preview that the Glamour Boys defender likes being able to feel his opponent and a false nine could cause him real problems!
2-Yusuf Maart 78:45
At this stage, Pirates were trying to kill off the game. Although Chiefs scored from their own build-up play, we could also see this as a goal in a transition moment. At one end, Saleng has the ball with Hotto busting a gut to overlap from his left back role. Saleng ignores him and shoots wide, meaning a long distance for the Namibian to get back into position. Amakhosi take the goal kick quickly with Zwane's position pulling Timm high up to try to press. Hotto being out of position has forced Tapelo Xoki to move wide to watch Solomons. Meanwhile, Maart is in his own half in the centre circle at this point with Thabang Monare next to him. Frosler is able to find Solomons on the flank and he dribbles past Xoki like he isn't there. Maart has completely escaped the attentions of the ball-watching Monare and is free in acres of space. Solomons times his pass perfectly and the run is also very well-timed. There are a few other factors to the goal. Firstly, Bonfils-Caleb Bimenyimana doesn't touch the ball, but his movement is really good to completely occupy Nkosinathi Sibisi. Maart's actually played through on goal when he has already run past Sibisi'sline. Had Paseka Mako stepped up, it would have been offside, but he instead tries belatedly to track Maart. There are many factors which led to this goal: Hotto being slow to recover or too adventurous, Xoki selling himself and not showing Solomons wide or even fouling him, Mako playing Maart onside, Timm stepping up too high to press, and mostly, Monare failing to track Maart's run.
3-Sandile Mthethwa 90 + 23:07
This goal comes from the second phase on a set-play. Pirates go long from the back and Bienvenu Eva Nga causes Dove a real headache, forcing a corner. By this stage, the centre back is pretty fatigued and the introduction of the Cameroonian striker was not a welcome sight. Although Hlanti heads Saleng's corner clear, the danger is far from over. Yet, Chiefs striker Bimenyimana is already looking to move back up front and the marking and passing-on of men is not existent. Either all nine of the Amakhosi players inside the box need to get out and squeeze the play up, or they need to continue to treat this as part of the corner. Not least because both Mthethwa and Eva Nga have joined the action for shorter players, meaning there is extra height to guard against in comparison to the first half. Ndabayithethwa Ndlondlo delivers a perfect ball into the box. Mthethwa heads down into the ground, showing excellent technique as he gets between Dove and Hlanti to head home. There are many errors here, but the biggest is that Chiefs don't squeeze up as a unit to the edge of the box. Also, there is no need for Bimenyimana to leave his defensive duties so quickly. It's a bad goal to cost you a cup tie and one that was totally avoidable. Credit must go to the roles of Eva Nga, Ndlondlo and Mthethwa for that winner.
What Stats Say
When we review any derby match, it is worth looking at the match stats. Did one side dominate possession or have significantly more shots or tackles? Let's take a look below:
KAIZER CHIEFS ORLANDO PIRATES
50% Possession 50%
8 Shots 14
2 Shots on Target 3
0.91 Expected Goals 1.62
20 Penalty Area Entries 11
74% Tackle Win % 63%
17 Successful Dribbles 9
The stats make for interesting reading. Both sides had 50% possession in the match, but Chiefs managed a meagre eight shots in 120 minutes of football. They hit the target with two of those attempts for an Expected Goals – a measure of how many goals a team should score based on the quality of their shots – value of 0.91 xG. Pirates managed more shots and an extra one on target. Their xG is higher at 1.62, but Erasmus scored a tap-in with an Expected Goals value of 0.95. That means that the Buccaneers only created 0.67 xG in the 106 minutes of football which followed. If we look at a few other stats, we can see that the Naturena-based outfit won a greater percentage of their tackles, made some successful dribbles and had almost double the number of entries in the penalty box. In reality, this would have been a different match had Saile finished off his two clear-cut chances. Zwane's sentiment that his side created plenty but lost because they weren't clinical, may be right in this particular match.
Riveiro Makes Inventive Subs
When we look back on this match, after 120 minutes of action, we will see that Chiefs made just three changes and one of those was in the 118th minute. Pirates made six changes as they switched formations and player positions to get a foothold in the game. Firstly, Riveiro took off right back Shandu and brought on Hotto. The coach explained his thinking at full time: "Well, now we can say that was a good decision. Even before the injury, we noticed that it was difficult to control (Ashley) Du Preez, he is so fast, has the capacity to repeat the sprints – it's something amazing. Deon can do it as well, we managed to control that Du Preez takes the side again and so in the end, it's a tactical game. We tried to do every time the best decisions for the collective and usually when you win (you) are right." Hotto is no stranger to playing left back and the switch was to have Mako facing up to Du Preez, Chiefs' best player right now. It worked to some degree as the speedster wasn't quite as dangerous after the sub. However, Amakhosi's equaliser came from Hotto being too adventurous. Riveiro later pulled off Erasmus for Ndlondlo and moved to a 4-3-3. The next act was a triple substitution. Makhehlene Makhaula replaced Monare after a knock, Eva Nga replaced Dzvukamanja and Mthethwa entered for Dlamini. The shape moved to a 3-5-2. This move worked well, not least because Mthethwa scored the winner. It meant Hotto wasn't so exposed down the left, it solidified the midfield and it gave Saleng freedom to play off the bustling Eva Nga. Pule and Relebohile Ratomo were unused subs. When you think that Evidence Makgopa, Ndumiso Mabena and Souaibou Marou didn't even make the bench, you can see the depth of options at Bucs' disposal. Chiefs were without three key attackers and therefore had little on the bench to affect things. Kgaogelo Sekgota was given two minutes and his last start came back in October, a run of 21 matches without being named in the starting XI. It is bizarre because Zwane started him a lot earlier in the season and he produced strong form, earning a Bafana Bafana debut. Bimenyimana has only started once in 13 matches and he looked rusty, so it's no wonder that only one team had the subs to win this match.
'10111' On What The Difference Is Between Pirates And Chiefs
In his post-match comments, Zwane was asked why one Soweto giant could have two trophies in the last six months whilst Chiefs are heading towards a ninth year without a trophy. He responded, "The only difference when it comes to that is us bringing in new players. They needed to gel. Us also working on our chemistry, understanding. When you look at Pirates, how many players that they brought in this season and already they had a core… With us, we didn't have a core. We had to start afresh." Let's examine this comment. Amakhosi did have a big recruitment drive in the offseason, but some of those players have barely played at all, such as George Matlou and Kamohelo Mahlatsi. Yes, they had to integrate two new centre-backs in Zitha Kwinika and Dove and also add Maart and Sithebe to the midfield and integrate young guns like Mduduzi Shabalala and Zwane. Then there were the additions of Saile, Du Preez and Bimenyimana in attack. It's true that this was a season where the starting XI often contained six new signings. However, Ezimnyama Ngenkani also had loads of fresh blood. Sipho Chaine, Sibisi, Xoki and Timm are all off-season signings down the spine of the team. Erasmus also joined, and long after pre-season, whilst Saleng made his Pirates debut this term. Mthethwa has played less than 500 minutes in the famous Black and White shirt and had only appeared for 14 minutes prior to this season. Eva Nga, Makgopa and Marou are also new signings, as is Makhaula. The fact is that both sides are somewhat in transitional periods, but the one is managing to win matches and even lifted a trophy whilst all their new additions settle in. Chiefs' big recruitment drive will stand them in good stead next season, but it's not an excuse for their disappointments this term.
Bucs Hold Advantage Over Chiefs In Cups
Since the PSL era began, these sides have met 20 times in cup competitions. Excluding penalty shootouts – as they're officially recorded as draws – Pirates have won 11 of those matches, with four wins for Chiefs and six ending in draws. Bucs have now won four of their last five ties with an Amakhosi penalty shootout success in the other. This was a tight match and the margins were very slim. Both coaches tried to catch the other by surprise with their team selections and Riveiro came out on top as Erasmus scored. Of the sides, only one coach changed formation to a back three to try to give his side an advantage. Zwane had two centre backs on the bench and had that option, but he preferred like-for-like changes. The missed chances are a major factor in Amakhosi's loss, but they hardly stormed down the Bucs goal and the Expected Goals numbers reflect that. In some ways, Zwane had one hand tied behind his back by the absences of Dolly, Billiat and "Mshini" Ngcobo, but he also got some things a little wrong. Sekgota should have either started or have played at least 30 minutes as a substitute. Using Saile on the left was the wrong call and we saw the tactical job Dolly did to stop Saleng in the previous Soweto Derby. Perhaps "Mangethe" could have recalled Kwinika for his defensive nous at right back too, again a move that worked well in the previous showpiece. And despite his assist and one other cross to create a chance, playing Solomons as a winger didn't make a great deal of sense. If anything, he could have played down the left to double up on Saleng! When it comes down to it, one of these sides could finish with two domestic cup trophies and a CAF Champions League qualification spot. The other will be left trophyless and may not qualify for continental action at all.
