The Nedbank Cup semi-finals took centre stage this past weekend with only two fixtures that were played on Sunday, because of the CAF Champions League involvement of the two participating teams.
Orlando Pirates hosted Marumo Gallants at Orlando Stadium in the 15h00 kick-off. This was the first game Bucs played since securing their Champions League semi-final spot.
Coach Jose Riveiro’s charges took the initiative and looked like scoring early in the game, with coach Abdeslam Ouaddou also looking threatening. Before this encounter, the two sides had met twice in the league with the Buccaneers hammering Bahlabane Ba Ntwa 8-1 in the first leg at Orlando Stadium. However, a few weeks later, the two teams met at Free State Stadium and the Soweto giants left the stadium not knowing what hit them, as they lost 2-0 with their former striker, Gabadinho Mhango playing a key role in the upset.
The much-anticipated Nedbank Cup semi-final clash lived up to expectation as both teams looked to book their spot in the final. It was a solitary goal from Kabelo Dlamini in the 22nd minute that sealed the deal for Bucs, after some interesting inter-passing between the team’s attackers.
In the second semi-final clash, Mamelodi Sundowns took the lead, against Kaizer Chiefs, through a Teboho Mokoena set-piece in what was an exciting clash between two teams that had played three times already this season. Wandile Duba then capitalised on a misplaced back pass from Lucas Suarez and slotted home to level the score. Just when everyone thought the game was headed for extra time and possibly penalties, Ashley Du Preez found the back of the net for coach Nasreddine Nabi’s side in the 89th minute to book a Soweto derby final against Pirates on May 10. This will be the first time since 2006 that the two teams meet in this cup competition’s final, as it was known as the ABSA Cup back then.
With that brief summary of the weekend's results, have a go at selecting your Team of the Week and see how close you get to the official Soccer Laduma selection.
