Defending champions Orlando Pirates have advanced to the Carling Knockout Cup semi-finals after a 1-0 win over Sekhukhune United at Orlando Amstel Arena in Soweto on Saturday afternoon.
The only goal of the match came in the half-hour mark via on-form midfielder Mpho Padime. The Buccaneers will join Mamelodi Sundowns in the last four with the rest of the semi-final matches taking place on Sunday evening.
FARPost looks at five key takeaways from the Orlando Amstel Arena.
MORE PLAYERS GETTING INTO THE SCORING SHEET FOR PIRATES
Mpho Padime scored his second goal for Pirates this season after he caught the Sekhukhune defense napping.
One of the key factors to Pirates’ impressive winning streak is the ability to have different goal scorers in every match.
More often teams rely on strikers to find the back of the net but since the beginning of the season the Buccaneers have had over 10 different goal scorers in all competitions.
THE OSWIN APPOLLIS IMPACT AT THE SOWETO GIANTS
The decision to bench Oswin Appollis by Abdeslam Ouaddou in the majority of matches this season has divided opinion among the Pirates faithful.
But the Bafana Bafana winger has proved how impactful he can be for the Soweto giants when coming off the bench.
Just as he did when he came on in the second half against rivals Kaizer Chiefs in the Soweto derby last week, Appollis once again gave the much needed energy to the Pirates side and they looked a different side creating a few opportunities where they would have buried the match.
ORLANDO PIRATES WASTEFUL INFRONT OF GOALS
Orlando Pirates may be one of the best scoring clubs in the current season but they are also the worst culprits in terms of converting their chances.
They could have easily won the match against Sekhukhune by a big margin, but wasted too many chances in the second half to bury the game. Something that head coach Ouaddou has already raised as a concern.
SEKHUKHUNE TRY CHIBUIKE OHIZU AND BETHUEL MUZEU COMBINATION
After a show of great form both in the League and in the Carling Knockout Cup, Bethuel Muzeu started upfront alongside Chibuike Ohizu. The Namibian, who joined the club at the beginning of the season has scored three goals with two assists.
Despite not finding the back of the net in the first half, the two showed some threats until Ohizu was taken out during the half time break. But if played regularly, the two lethal strikers could be a danger to most oppositions for Sekhukhune United this season.
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