No goals in clash of titans
Pirates, Sundowns leave all the drama to the fans
Usually there’s little to write home about in a match that ends goalless, but from the gates to the field, it was drama galore when Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates clashed at Loftus Versfeld yesterday.
Pirates officials allegedly refused to use the main entrance and wanted to use their own. It apparently led to an altercation and at the time of writing, it was not clear why Pirates wanted to use a different entrance.
Once the game started, you could feel the tension.
During the first half, a Sundowns supporter caught security napping and confronted Pirates assistant coach Rulani Mokwena, who was on the bench. The supporter and Mokwena were separated before things could get ugly.
Mokwena was previously at Sundowns before his switch to Pirates, and it would appear the home fans weren’t happy to see him back in Pretoria.
They were not pleased with his dismissive response to their jeers and things escalated very quickly when the supporter confronted him. But by half time, the police were everywhere and calm was restored.
The stadium was close to full capacity, and this added to the tense atmosphere.
Without many clear cut chances, perhaps a draw was a true reflection of the match. The first half was evenly balanced, with both sides giving little away.
Sundowns’ Jeremy Brockie failed to hit the target in the first minute, and on the other end, Thabiso Kutumela’s shot was comfortably saved by Denis Onyango.
The Brazilians’ Andile Jali was forced off early due to an injury and was replaced by Tiyani Mabunda.
In the second half, Pirates were the better side, doing all they could to secure a win, while Sundowns were reduced to playing long balls, which is not their usual attacking game.
Vincent Pule and Man of the Match Thembinkosi Lorch tried in vain to get a goal for the Soweto side to no avail.
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