In the end, the difference was quality.
Coached by brave and young Alexandre Lafitte,28, Marumo Gallants went toe-to-two with Orlando Pirates and matched them for more than 100 minutes but they were ultimately overpowered during extra-time.
As the Carling Knockout final match stretched, Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou called on the quality of Deon Hotto, Tshepang Moremi, Sipho Mbule and Yanela Mbuthuma from the bench for fresh legs and re-adjust his formation with devastating effect.
When he introduced Moremi in the second half, he moved to the left wing and Oswin Appollis to the right and this allowed Relebohile Mofokeng to take the playmaker role ahead of Thalente Mbatha and Masindi Nentajela.
Mofokeng, who scored the lone goal in the first half of extra-time to give departing rising star Mbekezeli Mbokazi a winning send off, offered Pirates a different attacking dimension as they were more purposeful going forward.
Lafitte made changes of his own in the second half, but they did not have the desired effect on the match as Pirates once again benefited from the quality that came from the bench.
On form Buccaneers have not won their second trophy of the season, they go to the Christmas break sitting on top of the Betway Premiership and there are those who think about the possibility of them sweeping everything this season.
Even though they lost this final, Gallants players will return to Bloemfontein with their heads held high because they gave it their all and nearly pushed favourites Pirates all the way.
Earlier in the day, Ouaddou gave Mbokazi the captain’s armband on his final match for the club with regular captain Nkosinathi Sibisi starting the bench and he leaves having led them to two cup final victories.
The Bafana Bafana defender is on his way to MLS side Chicago Fire after the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Morocco later in the month.
Ouaddou named a strong team that had Bafana players goalkeeper Sipho Chaine, Mbokazi, Thalente Mbatha, Oswin Appollis, Mofokeng and Evidence Makgopa.
He made a few surprises in his starting line-up with Lebone Seema, Nkosikhona Ndaba installed in defence and Makhehleni Makhaula getting a rare start together with Nemtajela.
Mbatha and Makhaula were in charge of things in the engine room with Appollis, Mofokeng, Nemtajela and Makgopa tasked with troubling the Gallants defence that was only breached after 100 minutes.
Recent Pirates matches were won by substitutes and this was not lost on Ouaddou as he had Hotto, Sibisi, Mbule, Moremi and Mbuthuma on the bench and they came on to make the difference.
Ouaddou made three changes to the team that beat Durban City 2-0 last week while Lafitte was able to start with former Pirates midfielder Philip Ndlondlo who was an injury concern leading up to the match.
Lafitte did not tinker much with his team that was led by veteran Zimbabwe goalkeeper Washington Arubi and had key players like Marvan Sikhosana, Siyabonga Nhlapo, Bheki Mabuza, Ketlego Otladisa, and Ibrahin Bance.
After a nervy start, Gallants grew in the game and most of their attacking work was through Ndlondlo who got a loud cheer from some Pirates supporters when he made his way back to the dressing room after the pitch inspection.
Pirates did not take too long to threaten but they received an invitation in the form of a mistake from Arubi who failed to control the ball after a back pass but Makgopa’s shot was cleared off the line in the third minute.
After the early scare for Gallants, both teams settled in the match with no real scoring chances but numerous stoppages with referee Akhona Makalima kept busy in the middle.
There was a comical moment for Pirates after 38 minutes when Mofokeng struck from close range but Makgopa spectacularly cleared the ball, that was going to be difficult for Arubi, for safety.
In the first half, Pirates created the better chances but they did not make them count and Ouaddou refreshed his team for the restart with Moremi replacing Makhaula and
Lafitte also made his move by bringing in Msendani for Khumbulani Ncube.
Just before the hour mark, Ouaddou was forced into a change with Ndaba wobbling off the pitch with an injury and he was replaced by Hotto and minutes later Mbuthuma replaced Makgopa upfront.
Lafitte waited until the 80th minute to make a second change with Monde Mphambaniso replacing Christoper Sithole and Ouaddou responded by introducing Sipho Mbule for Mbatha hoping he would inject more creative spark.
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