Orlando Pirates were eliminated from the Nedbank Cup after losing on penalties to Motsepe Foundation Championship side Casric Stars on Saturday night at Amstel Arena.
A few changes were made from the previous game, with Deano van Rooyen and Chabatanse brought back into the Pirates’ defence following Wednesday’s loss to Mamelodi Sundowns, while Andre de Jong and Tshepang Moremi were recalled to the attack in place of Yanela Mbuthuma and Oswin Appollis.
The Believers should have taken the lead within the opening ten minutes when the ball fell perfectly to Moukoute in the penalty area, but the Cameroonian striker surprisingly sent his shot wide, leaving everyone in the arena stunned.
The Buccaneers continued to dominate possession as expected, but they had to wait until the 22nd minute for a clear chance, when Relebohile Mofokeng found space to unleash a long-range strike that tested goalkeeper Wandile Mthombeni.
Casric stars were well-organised in the first half, doing a solid job of containing the Soweto giants. Pirates found it difficult to create clear-cut chances for De Jong, while Mofokeng and Moremi were not performing at their best level.
In the second half both teams started on the front foot, with Stars’ Bafana Nana shooting on target testing Sipho Chaine. At the other end, Mthombeni was kept on his feet, having to deal with efforts from Mofokeng and De Jong in quick succession.
The Buccaneers struggled to break down the Stars’ defence, prompting Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou to make his first change just after the hour mark, bringing on Appollis for Mswanganyi.
The Soweto giants had an opportunity to open the nets within 20 minutes on the clock as Mofokeng did well to play in Deon Hotto down the left side of the box, but the Namibian winger dragged his effort wide of the upright with only Mthombeni to beat.
The Buccaneers nearly snatched victory in second-half stoppage time when Moremi rattled the crossbar with a strike from the left. Stars had, however, done enough to take the game into extra time, prompting Ouaddou to introduce the speedy Kamogelo Sebelebele for Van Rooyen on the right.
Sebelebele had a chance to be the hero shortly after the start of extra time when he was slipped in down the right side of the box, but Stars’ goalkeeper Mthombeni produced a fine save to deny the Buccaneers winger at his near post.
With extra time failing to produce a winner, the match went to penalties, where the Championship side held their composure to edge out a 5-4 victory in sudden death.
These results shattered the hopes of buccaneers sealing a quadruple this season went up in smoke after they were crashed out of the Nedbank Cup by Casric Stars FC at Orlando Amstel Arena on Saturday.