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Mamelodi Sundowns made light work of Bloemfontein Celtic last night, coming from behind to win 3-1 and advancing to the semifinals of the MTN8 competition.
However, this was not the case for Orlando Pirates earlier on as they went 1-0 down to Highlands Park at home.
Cracks in the Pirates defence showed up again as Bucs began life after Milutin Sredojevic on a losing note last night.
The Serb resigned on the eve of this MTN8 quarterfinal fixture against Highlands, who then spoilt it for caretaker coach Rulani Mokwena, who is now in the spotlight to prove himself while on his own in the dugout.
A late goal by Highlands substitute Wayde Jooste nine minutes from regulation time sent the Tembisa outfit to the semis of the R8 million winner-takes-all competition, while Pirates were left reeling after their third defeat in a row.
After the match, Mokwena said: “It was a difficult match, but I think it’s a reflection of the state we are in. And you could see on the pitch that there is a lot that has happened in the past 48 hours.
“So, no excuses. It’s a bitter pill to swallow – one that we have to swallow and then try to move on and improve.”
While the leaky Pirates defence has become a major talking point, Mokwena said it was “difficult to try to diagnose exactly what we are going through, but it’s quite a lot”.
He cited the transition in the playing personnel and that new players needed time to adapt.
“Today [last night] would have made things a little bit easier. In football, victories help to give teams a bit more confidence and stability from a psychological perspective,” he said.
While Mokwena would have been yearning for a positive result at the Soweto venue, his counterpart, Owen Da Gama, who is a former Pirates coach, rejoiced after another win.
Da Gama paid tribute to his technical team for a job well done in analysing Pirates and coming up with a winning game plan, although they attained their feat with forced substitutions due to injuries.
“Maybe we were a little bit lucky because Pirates had two opportunities to equalise,” he said.
In fact, Highlands survived scares in the opening half, but Thembinkosi Lorch’s two attempts in the space of two minutes in the opening half could not find the net.
Lindokuhle Mbatha also came close with a long-range shot, but it flew narrowly wide, while Pirates’ Vincent Pule also missed the target with a header.
Highlands suffered a blow when influential attacker Mbatha was stretchered off on the half-hour mark after Musa Nyatama went hard on him in a duel for the ball. Jooste came on in his place and almost made an immediate impact when he forced a good stop from Wayne Sandilands following a counterattack
A comedy of errors between Alfred Ndengane and Thabiso Monyane almost resulted in an own goal, but Sandilands saved their blushes just in time in the 40th minute.
The lucrative top-eight competition continues to elude Pirates, who last won it eight years ago.
The Bucs also suffered a first-round exit last season, having failed to qualify for the tournament in the 2016/17 campaign.
Polokwane City were the first side to book a place in the last four after beating Cape Town City 2-0 earlier in the day.
