Orlando Pirates ended their six-year wait for a major honour when they beat 10-men Bloemfontein Celtic 2-1 to be crowned MTN8 champions at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday evening.
Pirates had a dreadful start when they conceded in the opening four minutes. Celtic midfielder Siphelele Luthuli found himself unmarked in front of goal before he acrobatically finished to make it 1-0.
As if the dreadful start was not enough, Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer was forced into an early substitution when he had to replace injured Thabang Monare with Thembinkosi Lorch. The Lorch substitution seemed to be a blessing in disguise as he was instrumental in making sure Pirates end their trophy drought.
Deon Hotto scored the equalizer in the 32nd minute with a clinical bottom-corner finish after a good move from a free-kick.
Then, seven minutes into the second half, the substitute Lorch found himself through on goal before he was bundled down by Ronald Pfumbidzai to earn a penalty. To compound matters for Celtic, Pfumbidzai was shown a red card for his trouble. Lorch got up and converted the penalty to make it 2-1.
It was always going to be a struggle for 10-men Siwelele to come back into the game against a good Pirates team, and the Bucs held on and were rewarded with an R8 million cheque as well as a trophy.
Written by: Diski Voice
