Kamogelo Sebelebele salvaged a Soweto Derby point for Orlando Pirates, but the Buccaneers lost ground in the Betway Premiership title race following a 1-1 draw with Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium on Sunday.
On an afternoon where Amakhosi appeared on course to run away with maximum points after Pule Mmodi had thrust them ahead, Sebelebele hit back to earn a point for The Ghost. It was a result which slowed down Pirates’ title momentum in their race against Mamelodi Sundowns.
For Chiefs, even after failing to strike back and atone for the 3-0 humiliation by their traditional foes in February, they could be happy to have stretched their unbeaten run to seven games. The bid to play continental football next season is still alive for Amakhosi, who remain third on the table but have seen their gap between them and fourth-placed AmaZulu FC reduced to five points.
Thalente Mbatha returned to the Pirates starting line-up, replacing Masindi Nemtajela. Deon Hotto stepped in for Nkosikhona Ndaba at left-back as coach Abdeslam Ouaddou made just two changes to the team that beat AmaZulu 3-0 eight days earlier.
Chiefs coaches Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef sacrificed Thabo Cele for Sibongiseni Mthethwa, with Siphesihle Ndlovu back in the starting line-up, while Mduduzi Shabalala started from the bench. Surprisingly, forward Flavio da Silva was benched as Mmodi found his way into the line-up and it paid off.
CHIEFS GOALIE PETERSEN SENDS MESSAGE TO BAFANA COACH BROOS WITH SOLID FIRST-HALF DISPLAY
After a 45-minute delay to kick off, the derby finally rolled into life. Oswin Appollis thought he had handed Pirates the lead after 19 minutes, but his goal was flagged to have been scored from an offside position. Then two minutes later, Chiefs goalkeeper Brandon Petersen reacted decisively to move in and clear the ball from the feet of a charging Yanela Mbuthuma in what was a dangerous situation foiled.
Ouaddou was forced to alter his plans in the 35th minute when he took out an injured Tshepang Moremi for Patrick Maswanganyi.
In a strong message to Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos, Petersen was back with a terrific block to deny Sebelebele, while Mbuthuma’s follow-up shot was thwarted by Given Msimango on the brink of halftime.
MMODI SETS FNB STADIUM ALIGHT AS CHIEFS BREAK DEADLOCK, BUT BUCS HIT BACK
After a drab start to the second half, Amakhosi got the breakthrough from what was their first meaningful opportunity of the match on 62 minutes. Wandile Duba squared the ball to Mmodi, who made no mistake to turn the ball into the back of the net for his first ever Soweto Derby goal.
Pirates responded shortly after, but Relebohile Mofokeng agonisingly watched his witty effort go just wide. The Buccaneers’ pressure on Chiefs paid off when Sebelebele finally beat Petersen with 15 minutes remaining.
The Glamour Boys goalkeeper punched Deon Hotto’s shot into the path of Sebelebele, who fired, at first time, into the net to equalise. Both Soweto giants, however, could not find a target thereafter, settling for one goal apiece.
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