Baroka FC (0) 1
Oscarine 90+
Orlando Pirates (0) 1
Chabalala 48
Polokwane is not a happy hunting ground for Orlando Pirates, and they again left it late, allowing the hosts to grab a last-gasp equaliser in spectacular fashion.
In a desperate attempt to try and get something out of the game, Masuluke Oscarine, the Baroka FC goalkeeper, who had moaned to referee Philip Tinyane about being impeded in the lead up to Justice Chabalala’s opener for Pirates, went up for a corner kick looking for something special – and got it.
It looked like the ball had been sent in hopelessly and was easy pickings for the Pirates defence, until Oscarine produced arguably the moment of the entire game when his overhead kick went sailing into the net, beating his opposite number Jackson Mabokgwane to leave the fans asking for more, but there was no time left on the clock. The added time was a source of displeasure for Pirates coach Augusto Palacios, who felt it was a bit too much. But the neutral would have enjoyed watching a goalkeeper score with such finesse and helping the team grab a point while at it.
The first half had not been pretty but rather effective for Orlando Pirates, who were hoping to shake off their cup disappointment at the weekend and continue some sort of resurgence under Palacios.
Perhaps a team with slightly more quality would have denied them any share of the spoils on the night. Pirates were nursing their egos coming into this Absa Premiership clash having missed out on reaching the Telkom Knockout final to be played at the same venue on December 10 following their narrow defeat to SuperSport United on Saturday night. They are far from being sharp are the Buccaneers, but Palacios is stilly trying to put a stop to their long run of draws under Muhsin Ertugral, who resigned after the side were humiliated 6-1 by SuperSport United in a league fixture exactly a month ago.
Chabalala looked to have found the winning goal as the game dragged on without Pirates being able to add to their tally and Baroka fluffing chances when he found himself at the end of timely cross into the Baroka box to tap in the opener before half-time. Oscarine felt Issa Sarr obstructed him in the lead up to Pirates scoring, but his protest fell on deaf ears.
At the time, Mabokgwane had looked comfortable and even shoo-in for the Man of the Match award.
Instead it was the Baroka goal minder who stole the show, leaving Pirates with disappointment as they return home with another draw, this time against Baroka having failed to beat their crosstown rivals Polokwane City earlier in the season while Ertugral was coach.
Independent Media