Orlando Pirates have ended their six-year wait for a trophy after rallying from behind to defeat Bloemfontein Celtic in the MTN8 final.
MTN8 Final
Result: Bloemfontein Celtic 1-2 Orlando Pirates
Date: 12 December 2020
Venue: Moses Mabhida Stadium
Scroll through the gallery above to see action from the MTN8 final.
Josef Zinnbauer kept faith with the same line-up that drew with Cape Town City last weekend, while Celtic coach John Maduka recalled all the regulars who were rested for the CAF Confederation Cup last weekend.
Celtic took a fourth-minute lead after the Buccaneers failed to clear their lines from a corner and Mzwanele Mahashe headed the ball to Siphelele Luthuli, who volleyed home from close range with the Pirates defence guilty of poor marking.
Maduka's charges came close to doubling their lead in the 21st minute. It was a great counter-attack from John Maduka's side as Menzi Masuku played the one-two with Ndumiso Mabena, but Ntsikelelo Nyauza made a fantastic sliding interception to save the day for Pirates.
Thabang Monare was forced off with an injury sustained in a challenge he received a yellow card for and replaced by Thembinkosi Lorch, who made an earlier than expected return to fitness.
The Bucs equalised soon after. A direct ball caused problems for the Celtic defence with Ronald Pfumbidzai particularly guilty of not clearing his lines and Hotto pounced as he ran on to the ball and dinked the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper Jackson Mabogkwane.
The turnaround was complete in the 51st minute through that man Lorch, who was having a terrific impact since coming off the bench. The number three ran on to a long ball over the top before being unceremoniously hauled down to the ground by Pfumbidzai, who was given his marching orders and an early bath.
Lorch dusted himself and took his time before side-footing the ball powerfully in to the top left-hand corner.
Celtic survived a scare when Mahashe underhit his backpass to Mabogkwane and Zakhele Lepasa got there just before the goalkeeper but ran it out of play accidentally after trying to hurdle the former Pirates shot-stopper's challenge.
With just over ten minutes to go, Lorch flicked the ball through for Vincent Pule, who let fly on the volley with Mabogkwane showing his agility to tip the ball over the bar.
In the end, Pirates were able to see out the closing stage to claim their first trophy in six years while Celtic suffer back-to-back cup final losses.
Here's how they started:
Celtic: 16. Mabokgwane, 3. Mahashe, 26. Ngobeni, 35. Baloyi, 15. Pfumbidzai, 8. Phalane, 50. Masuku, 13. Luthuli, 21. Letsaolo, 10. Mabena, 11. Potsane.
Subs: 31. Chaine, 18. Mashikinya, 33. Chabalala, 34. Fikizolo, 20. De Jongh, 7. Mangweni, 9. Sera, 27. Tchilimbou, 24. Lingwati.
Pirates: 31. Ofori, 14. Hlatshwayo, 5. Nyauza, 17. Jooste, 23. Maela, 6. Motshwari, 16. Monare, 15. Makaringe, 11. Hotto, 45. Pule, 25. Lepasa
Subs: 30. Sandilands, 27. Dzvukamanja, 32. Mntambo, 29. Mako, 21. Zungu, 9. Mabasa, 8. Ndlovu, 7. Mhango, 3. Lorch
View the seven survivors from Orlando Pirates' last cup final:
