Pirates beat Sundowns to retain MTN8 title

Orlando Pirates kept their cool in the penalty shootout to beat Mamelodi Sundowns in the MTN8 final at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday to clinch their second successive title.

A solid all-round effort capped by heroics from goalkeeper Sipho Chaine ensured that the Buccaneers retained their title, as they triumphed in the competition for an unprecedented 12th time.

The early part of the contest began tentatively as both sides took a good chunk of the first half to settle into rhythm, despite a few chances at both ends. 

The first period of extra time went by without much incident, as both sets of defenders kept things tight at the back.The pattern continued until the last two minutes of open play as Junior Mendieta had the ball in the back of the net, only to be flagged offside. The full-time whistle sounded soon after, sending the final into the lottery of a shootout.

That proved to be the perfect stage for Chaine who kept out Bongani Zungu’s shot from the spot, repeating the feat twice more to deny Mendieta and Mokoena, while Deon Hotto and Lesedi Kapinga converted to put Pirates two goals up. Xoki then sent his spot kick off target before Mothobi Mvala put Sundowns on the board and it was Karim Kimvuidi who converted what turned out to be the final penalty, leaving Williams rooted to the spot as the Buccaneers clinched their third MTN8 title in the last four seasons.