Orlando Pirates were held 0-0 at home by Durban City on Saturday and must win their final match of the South African Premiership season to end a 14-year wait for the title.
The Buccaneers have 66 points from 29 matches in the richest African league, two less than defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns, who finished their season with 68 points.
A win will take Pirates to 69 points and first place. A draw or loss will keep them second, and a sixth runners-up finish in nine seasons.
Pirates are away to relegation-threatened Orbit College next Saturday in a fixture switched from the home ground of their opponents to a neutral venue due to spectator safety concerns.
The title decider will be staged in Mbombela, 435 kilometres east of the Rustenburg home of Orbit, as the stadium in the northern city can accommodate 45,000 supporters.
“We will do it (win title). I said from early in the season that the race would go down to the wire,” said Pirates’ Moroccan coach and former Fulham defender Abdeslam Ouaddou.
“Chasing a first title in 14 years creates stress, and some of our attacking options today were not the best.
“The Pirates squad is among the most inexperienced in the league. Many are not used to being involved in such a tight championship race.”
Backed by a sell-out 40,000 crowd in Soweto, Pirates dominated mid-table Durban, but a mix of brilliant defending and wild finishing resulted in a goalless stalemate.
It was only the second time this season that four-time Premiership winners Pirates failed to score at home in 15 league matches — the first was last August.
A Durban defence superbly marshalled by captain and man-of-the-match award winner Siphamandla Ncanana won virtually every aerial duel.
With Pirates also having no success with passing inside the box, they were forced to shoot from distance, and few attempts troubled Ghanaian goalkeeper Frederick Asare.
Pirates’ biggest culprit when it came to inaccurate shooting was midfielder Oswin Apoollis, a likely starter for South Africa in the 2026 World Cup opener against co-hosts Mexico next month.
The home team had 25 goal attempts with just eight on target and forced 19 corners. Durban did not have a single attempt on target and created only one corner.
At the other end of the table, Magesi remain in danger of automatic relegation, three points below Orbit, after a 1-0 defeat at Siwelele.
