Any remote chance Orlando Pirates might have had of ending as Absa Premiership champions this season seemingly went up in smoke on Saturday night in a goalless draw against Jomo Cosmos — with the Buccaneers’ former goalkeeper, Avril Phali, principally responsible.
The cat-like Phali returned to his former club and exacted stunning revenge at the Johannesburg Stadium with a series of breathtaking saves.
And how the Buccaneers must have wished that Phali had remained where he was as he produced one of the best goalkeeping displays of the current season while foiling his old club.
What made Phali’s performance more commendable was the fact that his repertoire was made up of an assortment of varying saves that demonstrated his versatility.
Jomo Sono, owner-coach of second-bottom Cosmos, seemingly came away satisfied with the outcome, but the failure to secure more than one point hardly enhances the prospects of his team avoiding relegation.
They might well steer clear of the wooden spoonist position at the bottom of the log, which is reserved for automatic relegation, but the second-bottom team is required to go into a tricky play-off for next season’s final Premiership place with three promotion hopefuls from the First Division.
And in a rough-and-tumble kind of game in which the floodlighting failed twice, Cosmos’ provocative Morgan Gould was ordered off five minutes before the end after securing a second yellow card.
It is now 13 Premiership games since Sono’s team tasted victory, with their last five clashes all ending in goalless draws — a miserable record for a team who boasted of providing ”big things” in the title race this season. — Sapa