Would you believe it? Central defender Mbekezeli Mbokazi scored a scorcher of a goal from way outside the area to save Orlando Pirates blushes as they booked a place in the quarterfinals of the Carling Knockout Cup at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.
The 87th minute strike from the young Pirates skipper helped Bucs beat Siwelele FC 1-0 after striker Evidence Makgopa had missed a penalty that would have put the home side ahead in the 5th minute. Makgopa had been fouled inside the area but his spot kick could not beat the upright after he sent Samkelo Xulu, the Siwelele keeper, the wrong way.
Mbokazi’s goal came when the match looked to be headed for extra time in a cup competition in which Pirates had battled to win matches despite dominating in cup competitions in South Africa in the last four seasons. Pirates were booted into the last 16 since the League Cup returned two seasons ago.
The goal must form part of Mbokazi’s 20th birthday celebration on September 19 and it confirms why Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos believes he deserves to play overseas after only making his Pirates debut late last season.
Pirates battled to stamp their authority in this match playing against a team they’ve already beaten away from home in the league this season. Bucs coach Abdeslam Ouaddou had to make a number of changes in the second half to try to force the win.
The first 45 minutes of this match produced no goals despite a number of entries both sides made inside the box where they had good opportunities to score.
Perhaps the best chance for Pirates, apart from the penalty miss by Makgopa, was defended by Pirates themselves as Makgopa denied his teammate Oswin Appollis a chance to finish off a good cross from Deon Hotto as he took the ball away from him.
Siwelele were always dangerous on the counter and former Kaizer Chiefs players Samir Nurkovic, Christian Saile and Teboho Potsane all had some good chances to test Sipho Chaine in Pirates’ goals but fluffed them.
It was, however, Siwelele’s defensive midfielder Grant Margerman who was unlucky not to open the score when his shot missed the post narrowly wide after winning possession in the middle of the park.
Pirates’ attack was not as smooth as it has been in recent matches, especially with playmaker Relebohile Mofokeng having a first half to forget as he ended up losing the ball most of the time. Perhaps the presence of Mofokeng’s former teammate Mohau Nkota, who was on the stands after signing for Al-Ettifaq in money-spinning Saudi Arabia, distracted the 20-year-old.
After all, it was Mofokeng who was expected to make a move overseas this season while Nkota’s move came out of the blue and he has made full use of it having started the season well for both the club and Bafana – the team he’s in the country to represent when they play Zimbabwe and Rwanda in two final and crucial 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers in the coming days.
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