Menzi Magubane
History repeated itself as Orlando Pirates lost another CAF Confederation Cup final.
On Friday night RSB Berkane defeated Pirates 5-4 in a penalty shootout to lift their second Confederation Cup trophy.
The Moroccans took the lead thanks to Yourself El Fahli who beat Richard Ofori after being awarded a penalty at the start of extra-time.
The Buccaneers may feel that they didn’t deserve to fall behind in this match but an unnecessary foul by Thabang Monare let them down.
Referee Janny Sikazwe had to consult the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) monitor to come out with the final decision that showed that Monare, who was a substitute, did indeed foul Ismael Mokadem.
It looked like the Moroccans were set to lift the trophy in extra-time but Thembinkosi Lorch came up with a bizarre equaliser to force the match into penalties.
Lorch and Pirates counted themselves lucky because the equaliser came from the winger trying to pass the ball to one of his teammates.
However, the ball missed everyone, including Berkane defenders and ended at the back of the net in the 117th minute.
The match was decided in the shootout after it finished 0-0 in regulation time and in extra-time it ended 1-1.
Lorch and skipper Happy Jele will be the saddest players. Lorch, who was in tears after the match, missed the penalty while Jele lost this final for the second time in seven years.
The skipper is the only surviving player who was there when Pirates lost their first penalty in 2015. But this time Bucs players can only blame themselves for the defeat after dominating the match.
The Buccaneers missed a lot of scoring chances to finish the match in regular time. Deon Hotto, who had two one-on-one with goalkeeper Hamza Hamiani making several great saves.
Hamiani even saved Lorch’s penalty in the shootout to win this competition for the second time after winning it in 2020.
Image source: @Soccerzela
