Local football finally came to the Mother City to kickstart the 2024-25 season, and Cape Town City and Orlando Pirates rose to the occasion to deliver a high-tempo first-leg MTN8 semi-final at the Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday night.
Played under chilly but clear skies after the match was postponed from Tuesday’s scheduled start due to the prevailing weather conditions, the tie finished level at 1-1, with goals in either half from Relebohile Mofokeng and Jaedin Rhodes respectively.
Pirates will have the advantage heading into the second leg, having scored the all-important away goal, but the Buccaneers were fortunate to hang on for the draw after an inspired performance by City in the second half.
The visitors, fresh from their 4-0 mauling of Disciples FC in their CAF Champions League clash last Friday evening, were the fastest out of the blocks.
Jose Riveiro’s team maintained their rhythm with fluid passing from the outset, forcing City to back-pedal early on.
Pirates’ efforts were rewarded in the 14th minute when centre back Thabiso Sesane sent a long-range pass over City’s defensive line to find Mofokeng in space on the left wing.
The Bafana youngster showed good composure, firstly in collecting the pass before cutting inside City captain Thamsanqa Mkhize to unleash his shot on target, where Darren Keet could not get a strong-enough hand on it that allowed Pirates to claim the all-important away goal.
From that point onwards, it was the ‘Rhodes Show’. The 21-year-old attacker had missed the quarter-final victory over Sekhukhune United due to a suspension carried over from last season, but was drafted straight back into the City starting XI upon his availability.
The youngster had seen his new Namibian teammate Prins Tjiueza miss a golden opportunity to level the tie when he was neatly played in by Haashim Domingo after a stray pass in the Pirates midfield.
Buccaneers goalkeeper Sipho Chaine, who was in fine form on the night, did well to get down to low to his right, with his outstretched leg pushing Tjiueza’s strike against the crossbar.
Chaine keeps Pirates ahead with a massive save 😲
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) August 28, 2024
📺 Stream #MTN8 on DStv: https://t.co/B0jLrQWD1K pic.twitter.com/ojEnBEKpDf
Rhodes’ impact on the game was starting to tell, though, with the youngster testing Chaine from long-range as his effort skimmed the Pirates’ crossbar once more.
City were certainly the dominant side in possession as the halftime interval drew closer, and could easily have walked into the tunnel level when Rhodes came desperately close to finding the equaliser.
But again Chaine was up to the task when he moved swiftly off his line to deny Rhodes with a point-blank save after the City star had burst down the right wing towards goal.
𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐑! 💪
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) August 28, 2024
Rhodes finds the back of the net for Cape Town City 🔥
📺 Stream #MTN8 on DStv: https://t.co/B0jLrQW5cc pic.twitter.com/QTX0m5da1H
The interlude only strengthened City’s resolve as they maintained their momentum in the second half.
Eric Tinkler’s charges have always been a side that lives for nights like these when the Soweto giants come strolling into the Mother City, and they certainly ramped up the energy levels in the second period, with Rhodes at the centre of the action once again.
And he was not going to be denied for a third time when he finally got the better of Chaine when he picked up a knock-down from Tjiueza to level matters with a deflected strike that silenced the partisan Buccaneers supporters in a 21 000-strong crowd.
The goal only galvanised Rhodes and City even further as he produced another delightful run, before unleashing a curving shot from long range that forced Chaine into another excellent save to keep the scores level heading into the second leg at Orlando Stadium on Saturday (3pm start).