Nedbank Cup Last 32
Full Time: Thanda Royal Zulu 3-3 Orlando Pirates
*Pirates win 3-1 on penalties
Date: 22 February 2014
Venue: Umhlathuze Sports Complex
Orlando Pirates progressed into the Last 16 of the Nedbank Cup after beating Thanda Royal Zulu 3-1 in a penalty shoot-out after 120 minutes of football finished 3-3 at the Umhlathuze Sports Complex on Saturday afternoon.
A brace from Andile Fikizolo gave Thanda a two goal lead, but two goals in the dying minutes of regular time saw Pirates force the game into extra time.
Kermit Erasmus gave Pirates the lead in extra time before Mlengi Cele restored parity with the last kick of the ball to take the game to penalties.
The opening 45 minutes was a half dominated by the home side as they controlled the possession stakes and were certainly the more threatening in attack.
Thanda took the lead in the first minute of the match after Cele drove down the right flank and saw his low cross into the box poorly cleared by the Pirates defence. Fikizolo was on hand to tuck the ball home from 12-yards out, 1-0.
Despite being shocked by the early goal Pirates did not produce much in attack and Thanda continued to dominate the match.
In the 11th minute Cele worked his way into the Pirates box from the right flank, but he saw his 16-yard shot well-saved by Meyiwa.
Pirates were extremely poor in attack and only managed one first half shot on goal in the 34th minute, but it was a poor one as Helder Pelembe fired wide from 12-yards out.
Three minutes later and the Buccaneers found themselves trailing by two goals after a thunderbolt from Fikizolo from 25-yards out rattled the top left corner of the net, 2-0.
The second 45 saw the Pirates introduce Kermit Erasmus and he made a positive impact as the Buccaneers began to look livelier in attack.
In fact, Pirates dominated the possession stakes in the second half, but struggled to break down a resilient Thanda defence and were reduced, for the large part, to taking shots from distance.
Three minutes after the break Erasmus played Pelembe into space 12-yards out, but he fired straight at the keeper who made an easy save.
In the 64th minute Thabo Matlaba tried his luck from 30-yards out, but he saw his effort sail narrowly wide.
Ten minutes later Pelembe came bitterly close to pulling a goal back for Pirates when he met a deep cross from the right, but he saw his header bounce off the top of the crossbar from ten-yards out.
Pirates continued to throw men forward after that and did pull a goal back in the 91st minute as Ayanda Gcaba headed home a corner-kick, 2-1.
A mistake by the Thanda goalkeeper then cost his side in the final minute of regular time as he flapped at a deep cross into the box which resulted in the ball falling to an unmarked Pelembe who tapped home from a couple-yards out, 2-2.
That is the way the 90 minutes ended as the game moved into extra time.
Pirates dominated the extra time exchanges and Erasmus put Pirates in the lead for the first time in the 109th minute, 3-2.
But that was not to be the end of the drama as Cele equalised for Thanda after a goalmouth scramble in the final seconds of extra time, 3-3.
The game moved into a penalty shoot-out which Pirates won 3-1 and moved onto the Last 16 of the competition.
