Orlando Pirates almost found a way.
But it came down to the small margins, in this case a penalty miss and a save, as their Champions League hopes went up in smoke despite the 3-0 win over Saint-Éloi Lupopo in this second preliminary round clash that ended with red wine on the carpet and smashed plates on the floor.
The Buccaneers, who dominated this absorbing second leg encounter played in front of a bouncing crowd from beginning to end, paid a heavy price for losing 3-0 during the first leg in Lubumbashi last weekend.
In front of a near capacity crowd at Esigodini, they refused to give up, spectacularly clawing their way back in the game through goals by Masindi Nemtajela, Yanela Mbuthuma and Oswin Appollis to force the match into penalties.
Nemtajela gave them the lead in the first half and Mbuthuma and Appollis, who scored with effectively the last kick of the 90 minutes, kept their dreams alive but they were outdone during the dreaded shoot-outs.
Pirates scored from the efforts of Kabelo Dlamini, Lebone Seema, Appollis and Patrick Maswanganyi while Deon Hotto and Yanela Mbuthuma could not find convert.
The visitors scored through Mokonzi Katumbwe, Mavungu Mbele, Kimputu Wala, Dramane Kambou, Mavutuka Matukala while Mpeko Djos was the only one to miss his spot kick.
This defeat brought back the painful memories of 2023 where Pirates were stunned 5-4 on penalties by Botswana minnows Jwaneng Galaxy after their first preliminary round tie was tied at 1-1.
Last season, Pirates lost to eventual champions Pyramids FC of Egypt 3-2 in the semifinals and this defeat has dealt their ambitions of qualifying for the money-spinning Fifa Club World Cup in 2029 a massive blow.
The damage was done in the first leg with Pirates’ supporters questioning some of coach Abdeslam Ouaddou’s surprising decisions in his starting line-up which included tampering with his central defence.
Leading up to the trip, Ouaddou partnered Mbekezeli Mbokazi and Lebone Seema in the heart of the defence who looked solid together but changed things in the DRC.
But he brought in Nkosinathi Sibisi for Seema, probably on the back of solid performances for Bafana Bafana during 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers, and they conceded three goals.
Ouaddou was also questioned for his decisions on the midfield where the general feeling was they were thin with Sihle Nduli as the only defensive player in that key area away from home.
Alongside Nduli was attack-minded Nemtajela and Sipho Mbule while Tshepang Moremi and Kamogelo Sebelebele operated on the wings with Evidence Makgopa the lone striker and it didn’t work away from home.
In this match, Ouaddou made more interesting decisions with two changes from the away draw with Seema replacing Sibisi and Patrick Maswanganyi coming on for Makgopa.
This meant Pirates started without a recognised striker as he went with a three-pronged attack of Mbule, Appollis and Moremi against the strong five-man back line of Lupopo.
Pirates management were aggressive on the transfer market by recruiting players like Appollis, Mbule, Sihle Nduli, Moremi, Sebelebele and Sinoxolo Kwayiba, Moremi and Masindi Nemtajela.
This is a massive blow for their ambitions to become serious campaigners on the continent again.
Pirates had a chance of a penalty inside four minutes when Nemtajela went down in the box but referee Mohamed Ali Moussa of Niger gave him a yellow card for simulation.
Pirates were nearly stunned by Basiala Amongo whose shot was tipped over by Pirates goalkeeper Sipho Chaine.
Pirates opened the scoring through Nemtajela and this led to a scuffle between the players leading to a temporary halt to proceedings.
After all the stoppage drama, referee Moussa handed red cards to Moremi and Sambu Maniania of Lupopo.
Television replays showed there was a case of mistaken identity as it was Mukoko Amale who was the aggressor for Lupopo during the scuffle and was supposed to go for an early shower instead of Maniania.
Ouaddou shook things up during halftime and he came back with Dlamini and Mbuthuma for Nemtajela and Mbule as he tried to put more pressure on the Lupopo defence.
Pirates scored the second goal from the header of Mbuthuma after he connected with a corner kick from Dlamini and Appollis equalised during the dying minutes.
But, they were not so lucky with the penalty shoot-outs as Lupopo progressed to the next stage.
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