Africa-Press – South-Africa. Three years, a global pandemic, a war in Eastern Europe and 973 long days: that’s how long the fans had to wait to attend a Soweto derby between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs.
They had to wait for another 73 minutes past kick-off to witness one of the best goals of this storied South African rivalry, when midfielder Yusuf Maart scored from comfortably inside his own half.
Amakhosi, who won the previous Soweto derby that allowed fans inside FNB Stadium by the same score line on 29 February 2020, ripped the form book into pieces to defeat the Sea Robbers 1-0 in an entrancing clash on Saturday afternoon.
After humiliating DStv Premiership holders Mamelodi Sundowns 3-0 to make the MTN8 final, Pirates came into the clash as hot favourites, while Chiefs were licking their wounds after being ousted from the first domestic cup by AmaZulu.
The Buccaneers also started with the swagger of a team that knew they were on some sort of roll.
Four minutes in, Kermit Erasmus slipped Monnapule Saleng through early but Chiefs goalkeeper Brendon Petersen was required to work to keep the in-form winger from rippling the net.
It was all Pirates in the opening 10 minutes as they looked far more threatening but Saleng was silenced the whole match.
Chiefs could hardly break out of their own half at first, while Pirates had a merry time on offence.
Fullback Thabiso Monyane had a run from right back into the box that needed Njabulo Blom’s intervention.
From an Olisa Ndah knock-down, Innocent Maela also had a poke at goal from a corner without venom that Petersen gobbled up easily.
Chiefs’ first “sighter” came from Keagan Dolly, whose deflected strike from outside the box Siyabonga Mpontshane palmed clear.
Still, it was like a sparring match, not a heavyweight championship bout.
About 25 minutes in, Bucs captain Maela limped off the field in anguish, both physical and emotional, clutching his left hamstring – a blow to Pirates coach Jose Riveiro’s plans.
Maela’s injury was the first of a series of momentum-breaking substitutions – some enforced, some not.
After a 15-minute lull, Erasmus woke the packed FNB Stadium up with left-footed whipped shot from the edge of the area, which swung narrowly wide.
Then, Nkosingiphile Ngcobo put a pearly ball behind the Pirates defence that put Ashley du Preez through one-on-one with Mpontshane and the Pirates goal-minder won the duel. It was Amakhosi’s best attacking move up to that point and a stark warning to their opponents.
A minute later, Du Preez then punctured past the Pirates backline to fashion an even better chance but his low shot couldn’t beat Mpontshane’s inspired paws.
It was nil-nil, but not actionless, at half-time, while both teams would have felt they had a chance each to go ahead that they didn’t take.
Riveiro decided to swap out his wingers at the break, bringing on Kabelo Dlamini and Fortune Makaringe for Zakhele Lepasa and Deon Hotto, respectively.
Pirates were forced into a fourth change before Chiefs had made even one when midfielder Goodman Mosele accidentally struck his own teammate and twisted his ankle in the process.
On the hour, Erasmus again broke the sleepiness that had slipped into the contest with another lowly curled effort on the hour mark that fizzed past the far post.
The Glamour Boys had the better of the early second half chances, in a similar way Pirates had the opening period of the first. Maybe the myriad changes impacted the men in black?
Either way, Du Preez broke in midfield, coming deep to collect, and linked well with Dolly but Chiefs could not turn the move into anything more profitable than a hopeful and rather tame Maart long-range hit.
But the central midfielder would take another hit from long, long range … and what a hit it was.
Maart broke the deadlock in the most spectacular way you could imagine.
The former Pirates development product looped a strike from his own half that sailed over a disbelieving Mpontshane after dispossessing Ndabayithethwa Ndlondlo in the middle.
A roar went up inside the “Calabash” as Maart, who slipped as he struck the ball, scored one of the most memorable Soweto Derby goals of the 176 that have ever taken place.
It was a goal that the 87 400-plus fans who attended will remind themselves decades from now about how lucky they were there to see it.
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