Soweto giants ready for Cup battle

Cape Town - Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs will battle for the first piece of silverware up for grabs of the 2014/15 season when they meet in the MTN8 Final at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday, September 20.

The Soweto giants have both powered their way through to the final in impressive style, with Chiefs brushing aside Black Aces 4-0 in the quarterfinal and outgoing MTN8 champions Platinum Stars 5-0 on aggregate in the semifinals, while Pirates defeated SuperSport United 2-1 in the quarters and Bidvest Wits 5-1 on aggregate in the semis.

Both teams carry some great form into this weekend’s clash. Amakhosi defeated University of Pretoria 2-1 this past weekend to rack up their sixth successive league victory and ninth overall at the start of the season, while the Buccaneers’ 1-0 win over Wits on Saturday night was their fourth successive victory across league and cup matches.

Pirates and Chiefs have plenty of history against one another: the MTN8 final will be their 22^nd cup meeting in head-to-head records dating back to 1985. Of the previous 21 matches, the Amakhosi have eight wins, Bucs seven and six matches have been drawn.

The teams’ most recent cup meetings were in the semifinals of the MTN8 last year: Pirates won 2-1 on aggregate to advance to the final, though they were then beaten on penalties by Platinum Stars to end as tournament runners-up.

The teams met in the MTN8 final as recently as 2011. In a hard-fought match at the FNB Stadium, the Buccaneers won 1-0 after extra time thanks to a long-range goal from Oupa Manyisa.

Yet it is Chiefs who hold the current bragging rights, with a 1-0 win in a league clash in the second half of last season representing the teams’ most recent competitive meeting, while the side in gold and black also boast a superior record in the head-to-head stats.

The Amakhosi have 31 wins compared to Pirates’ 19 from 78 matches across all competition since 1985 and have outscored their derby rivals 87 goals to 70 in that sequence.

However, all of these statistics will count for nothing when the MTN8 final kicks off in Durban on Saturday evening. Chiefs will be aiming for a record-extending 15^th Top Eight Cup title (and a first since 2008), while Pirates are chasing Top Eight title number 10, having claimed their ninth in 2011 at the expense of their great rivals.

Orlando Pirates v Kaizer Chiefs kicks off at 20:15 on Saturday, September 20 at the sold out Moses Mahbida Stadium in Durban.