With the outcome of the MTN8 final balanced on a knife’s edge, attackers Tshepang Moremi and Tshegofatso Mabasa emerged from the bench to score three goals that helped Orlando Pirates beat Stellenbosch FC and win the tournament for the fourth successive season.
Moremi helped himself to a brace and Mabasa drilled the other one into the net as the Buccaneers found another gear during extra-time after the match was tied 0-0 at the end of 90 minutes at Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga.
Moremi, who opened the scoring after 92 minutes, has finally won a major professional trophy and is happy to have made a telling contribution to the team’s success.
“I always wanted to win a professional trophy and it means a lot to me,” he said.
“A lot of players have not won anything in their careers and hopefully this is the first of many for me and my teammates. When I went in, coach told me to find space behind their defence line and take runs to increase my opportunities of scoring and it happened. This is a great achievement for all of us.”
Moremi joined Pirates from AmaZulu during the off-season and he is settling in well at the club.
“My teammates have been supportive since I arrived, but being at Pirates wants you to be strong because a lot is expected of you. It is a big club and you always need to work hard.
“There will always be pressure, it depends on how you deal with it.”
With the MTN8 trophy successfully defended, Pirates turn attention to the Caf Champions League and Moremi is looking forward to the challenge.
“It will not be for the first time I play in the Champions League, I did so with AmaZulu a few seasons ago and It was tough because those guys are strong but I am looking forward to it.”
Mabasa, who scored the second to stretch the match further away from Stellenbosch, said it was team effort.
“Stellenbosch put on a tough fight but our strength got us through because we have been in these situations many times before. We managed to pull through together as a group.
“We continued to push one another and eventually we got goals in extra-time and it is now four times in a row.”
Pirates won this match with the influence of players from the bench and Mabasa said they have enough depth.
“It has happened in previous cup finals where players came off the bench and had a massive impact on the game. We really have squad depth and everyone is pushing hard at training.
“If it was possible, all the players would play at the same time but you can only have eleven guys on the field. There is unity within the group and we support one another.
“I always pride myself in the goals that I score, every chance I get I always try to put the ball in the back of the net and I am happy I was able to do that in this match.”
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