JOHANNESBURG – Orlando Pirates edged Golden Arrows 1-0 Sunday to reach the South African FA Cup final and keep alive hopes of salvaging some pride from a troubled season.
Unmarked Abbubakar Mobara nodded a near-post winner off an Mpho Makola free-kick after 34 minutes to settle the semi-final in Durban.
Pirates return to the Indian Ocean port for the June 24 final against title-holders SuperSport United, a repeat of the 2016 decider.
At stake is a seven million rand ($530,000) first prize and a place in the 2018 CAF Confederation Cup.
Success in the season finale would mean a lot more for the Soweto “Buccaneers”, though, under Swedish coach Kjell Jonevret.
In February, he inherited a club in freefall after conceding a club record six goals twice in league matches.
Jonevret successfully staved off the threat of relegation with a string of draws, but the former African champions lie an embarrassing 11th of 16 clubs with one league fixture remaining.
“We deserved to win, but poor finishing remains a problem,”admitted the Swede. “Improving the team will take time and, perhaps, some new faces.”
Mid-table Arrows nearly levelled in stoppage time when a Nduduzo Sibiya free-kick rebounded off the crossbar, and coach Clinton Larsen hailed his team.
“Losing is obviously a huge disappointment, but my boys left it all out there on the field. We matched Pirates pound for pound.”
SuperSport beat Chippa United 4-2 on penalties near East London Saturday after a 0-0 draw in the first semi-final. – Nampa-AFP
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