Orlando Pirates booked their spot in the Carling Knockout Cup semi-finals with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Sekhukhune United at the Orlando Amstel Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Mpho Padime netted the decisive first-half goal, ensuring Abdeslam Ouaddou’s side marched safely into the last four.
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The Buccaneers dominated the early exchanges, controlling the lion’s share of possession as they hunted for an early opener. Babina Noko struggled to build any meaningful momentum going forward.
Clear-cut chances were hard to come by early on, with both defensive lines remaining firm. Mpho Padime provided the first real threat, firing a long-range strike that whistled just over the crossbar.
Chibuike Ohizu missed a golden opportunity to break the deadlock in the 27th minute, bouncing a close-range header into the turf and over the bar from a corner kick. Just five minutes later, Padime made no mistake, tapping home Tshepang Moremi’s cross to open the scoring.
The Limpopo outfit struggled to muster an immediate response, while the hosts continued to look dangerous every time they drove forward. The score remained 1-0 in favour of the home side at half-time.
The second half picked up right where the first left off, with Pirates maintaining control and dictating the tempo through heavy possession.
As the match progressed, Sekhukhune began to carve out a few opportunities, though a breakthrough eluded them. With his team losing their stranglehold on the match, the Pirates boss made tactical changes to steady the ship.
The introduction of Appollis re-energized Ezimnyama Ngenkani, who quickly reclaimed control of the match and launched a wave of attacks in search of a decisive second goal. The Sea Robbers held firm in defence right up to the final whistle to eliminate their opponents from the tournament.