Orlando Pirates secured their place in the Nedbank Cup final after a 3-1 win over Chippa United at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
In the build-up to the fixture Technical Director Morgan Mammilla stated the trophy was Chippa United’s but Pirates quickly put that notion to bed.
Kabelo Dlamini proved the star opening the scoring with a free-kick in the opening five minutes and five minutes before the break he doubled their advantage.
After the home side failed to play to the whistle, expecting a free-kick, Patrick Maswanganyi delivered a square ball into the area for Dlamini to finish with aplomb.
The second half proved to be an end-to-end affair worthy of the sold-out event but Pirates failed to take advantage of several final third entries.
It proved to Chippa’s benefit when Bienvenu Eva Nga, who returned to Chippa in January from Pirates, set up substitute Elmo Kambindu to pull one back after 62 minutes.
But Pirates managed to hold on and Tapelo Xoki added gloss to the victory with a third goal before Eva Nga was sent off two minutes before time.
It saw Pirates cruise in the final minutes to book a second successive Nedbank Cup final in their pursuit of defending the title.
The Buccaneers will now await the winner of Mamelodi Sundowns and Stellenbosch at Danie Craven tomorrow to complete the final line-up for the 2023/24 campaign.
