In Durban, the story of the Carling Knockout Cup – Pirates journey gained another vital chapter as Orlando Pirates edged Richards Bay 1-0 at Moses Mabhida Stadium to book a place in the final. The result was built on grit, discipline, and a single moment of first half quality that reflected a team learning to win in different ways.
Abdeslam Ouaddou stood on the touchline satisfied but measured, a coach who sees the value in small details and collective resolve. His words after the whistle framed the night as a triumph of spirit, a cup tie won by resilience more than by fireworks.
“I am proud of my boys,” he told SuperSport TV. “It was not an easy game. We played a very good team with a good coach and good organisation. We knew they would fight until the end. Cup matches are about team spirit and we saw that today.”
Moremi delivers the moment that mattered
The semifinal tilted three minutes before the break, officially the 42nd minute, when Tshepang Moremi timed his run to perfection and latched onto a superb diagonal from Oswin Appollis. One touch to control with his head, then a crisp low finish across the goalkeeper and into the corner, a composed strike that underlined a growing sense of purpose.
It was a sequence that encapsulated the Pirates attack, quick recognition and execution with Appollis at the hub of so much invention. The goal was Moremi’s eighth in all competitions this season, a number that speaks to his evolving influence in a side that values shared responsibility as much as individual flair.
Pirates had pressed the issue from early on and confronted a stubborn low defensive block from Richards Bay. The only lingering question was not if, but when the breakthrough would come, a testament to the Buccaneers’ territorial control and game management.
Ouaddou shows pride and pragmatism
Context mattered on this night, because the legs were heavy after a league trip to Golden Arrows just three days earlier. Ouaddou acknowledged the load and calibrated his plan accordingly, trusting structure and patience over spectacle in a match that demanded calm choices.
He also showed a feel for the game’s rhythms in the second half, turning to the bench to alter the picture and re-energise the attack. Fresh legs were not a luxury, they were a necessity, and the timing of those changes spoke to a coach reading the flow with clarity.
“We wanted to bring freshness into the team,” he said, after introducing Relebohile Mofokeng and Sinoxolo Kwayiba. “We saw their central defenders coming with the ball, trying to break the lines, we needed someone to press from the front and Kwayiba did a fantastic job.”
The balancing act of pragmatism
Ouaddou did not dress up what the match was, nor what it was not. He admitted the game lacked the fluency neutrals might have hoped for, yet it had the qualities that cup football often demands.
“I cannot say it was a fantastic game in terms of the football,” he noted. “But this was a cup game against a strong team with good organisation. My players showed a lot of resilience. Sometimes that is what you need to get to a final.”
Form and ambition in the bigger season arc
The path to this moment is part of a larger narrative, because Pirates have already lifted the MTN8 this season and are now into a second domestic cup final. They will start as favourites to add the Carling Knockout to the trophy cabinet, a prospect that energises a squad growing in confidence.
The league context adds further weight, as the Buccaneers recovered from a slow start and then reeled off 22 points from a possible 24, with a draw against Mamelodi Sundowns the only interruption in that surge. It is a stretch of form that suggests a team finding stability in its identity and rhythm in its weekly work.
Still, the head coach refuses to be swept up in the moment. Ouaddou’s public stance remains grounded and intentionally humble, a reminder that seasons are judged by their endings, not their early chapters.
“It is too soon to summarise my work,” he told journalists. “I will be judged at the end of the season. I am still at the very beginning of my job and I have to be very humble. The ambition we have is to deliver a good performance in every game.”
After the sting of continental disappointment
Part of this steadiness is forged by pain, because the early exit from the Caf Champions League group stages against FC St Eloi Lupopo remains a bruise that has not fully faded. The honesty about that setback has been striking, a willingness to address it without allowing it to define what comes next.
Ouaddou’s message is clear, the focus is back on the league and the remaining cups, with the intention to give everything for the competitions still on the table. The light is still green for the future, even if the shadow of the Champions League disappointment lingers in the background.
“It is very difficult because it was one of our targets. Let’s see what the future holds. For now we are focused on the league and the rest of the competitions, trying to give our best and win.”
Control with and without the ball
Beyond the goal, Pirates managed the duel’s tempo and limited clear openings for Richards Bay. When Bay did carry a threat, the home goalkeeper kept them in it with a strong save in the first half, an intervention that delayed but did not deny the inevitable swing of the contest.
After the interval, Richards Bay had to advance their lines, and the match opened in brief bursts. Sipho Chaine produced a decisive piece of keeping around the hour mark, racing off his line to snuff out danger, and the referee judged the challenge fair in a moment that steadied the Buccaneers’ grip on the result and showcased Sipho Chaine at his most alert.
What comes next
Pirates will face the winner of Golden Arrows against Marumo Gallants, who meet in the other semifinal on Sunday at the King Zwelithini Stadium in Umlazi. Whoever emerges will meet a Buccaneers team that is comfortable under the bright lights of showpiece occasions.
The scale of that comfort is measurable, because this is Pirates’ eighth cup final since the start of the 2022 and 2023 season, and they have won the other seven. That record adds a layer of psychological edge, and it invites a question about how this group keeps finding a way to cross the line in knockout football.
Key takeaways
- dominance expressed in territory and initiative,
- a single cutting pass and a clinical finish settled the semifinal,
- fresh legs and targeted pressing preserved control.
Players who tilted the balance
Tshepang Moremi’s timing and poise were the difference, the kind of clarity in the penalty area that defines tight semifinals. Oswin Appollis supplied the vision with his raking pass, a reminder of how valuable a forward who can create on the run can be for a side that seeks to unlock low blocks.
From the bench, Relebohile Mofokeng added zest between the lines and offered a passing outlet when Pirates needed to re-establish control. Sinoxolo Kwayiba’s front-foot pressing disrupted Bay’s centre backs, exactly the brief his coach described and exactly the kind of detail that preserves slender leads when the clock begins to drag.
How the touchline shaped the night
There was a studied calm in the technical area, visible in the timing of changes and in the instance of holding back when the game asked for patience. Ouaddou’s reading that pressing from the front would halt Bay’s attempts to break lines proved accurate, and his choices created a final half hour that the Buccaneers navigated with composure.
It is easy to overlook how hard it is to play with control when protecting a one-goal lead. Pirates showed the discipline to choose the right press moments, to compress space, and to deny transitions that would have altered the game’s trajectory.
The human element
Three days between a league trip and a semifinal is the kind of turnaround that tests the body as much as the mind. Tired legs become heavy thoughts, yet the group leaned into their togetherness, trusting the work and taking comfort in a coach who values effort as much as elegance.
That is what made Ouaddou’s post-match tone land with such authenticity. Pride without complacency, acknowledgment of imperfections without apology, and a steady insistence that performances, one after another, are the pathway to medals and memories that endure with supporters.
Numbers that tell the story
Two trophies on the horizon is not an illusion but a reflection of tangible trends. MTN8 already secured, a second domestic cup final clinched, and that league surge of 22 points from 24 build a picture of progress that is both measurable and meaningful.
Layer on the eight cup finals since the start of the 2022 and 2023 season, with seven already won, and the shape of this team’s identity becomes clearer. Pirates are becoming a side that relishes decisive nights, and that knows how to carry a lead with a level of assurance.
Final word
This semifinal will not be repeated for its artistry, but its value inside the Pirates season cannot be overstated. It was a win that reaffirmed a maturing habit, a capacity to marry control with courage, and a collective willingness to do the unglamorous work that finals are often built upon.
Most of all, it was a performance that blended humility with ambition, a reflection of a coach who keeps the horizon in view without losing his footing in the present. The next hurdle awaits, and if this night in Durban is any guide, Orlando Pirates will arrive in the Carling Knockout final with poise, belief, and the confidence that there are many ways to write a winning story.
