Kaizer Chiefs were handed a gift-wrapped second crack against Manchester United in the Vodacom Challenge series by virtue of a 2-0 victory over a lacklustre Orlando Pirates at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace in Rustenburg on Thursday night.
Both the Soweto rivals have been beaten in the competition by Manchester’s youthful Red Devils, but a bizarre format decreed that the two losers receive a second bite of the cherry in qualifying for what has been termed a final at Loftus on Saturday.
And judging by the continuation of Pirates’ haphazard form in what constituted a fourth successive defeat against Amakhosi, the finale to the series of friendly matches has only been enhanced by the absence of The Buccaneers from Saturday’s game.
The writing was on the wall in only the fifth minute when former Bafana and Charlton Athletic striker Shaun Bartlett scored his first goal since joining Chiefs with a typically incisive headed goal.
And while Pirates huffed and puffed in what was a one-dimensional performance, which provided only one on-target scoring attempt in 90 minutes, it was Chiefs who virtually settled the issue in the 76th minute with a second headed goal by Gert Schalkwyk from 20m — infinitely more spectacular than Bartlett’s earlier effort.
A one-sided game will surely rank among the most dour and drab of these traditionally electric Soweto derbies and emphasised the increasing plight of The Buccaneers before they travel to Nigeria next week for an African Champions League clash against formidable Enyimba.
Chiefs, for their part, might easily have secured a three-goal lead by the interval, with several gilt-edged chances squandered and Francis Chansa in Pirates’ goal producing an early breathtaking save from David Mathebula.
A stunning 64th pile driver from substitute Kaizer Motaung struck the woodwork and denied Chiefs the chance of increasing their lead.
And although the arrival on the field as a substitute for Pirates of former Chiefs star Jabu Mahlangu [Pule] briefly galvanised The Buccaneers into action, Schalkwyk’s header obliterated any chance of a comeback. — Sapa