Mofokeng seals South African FA Cup victory for Pirates
After a free-kick, the ball was crossed to the 19-year-old inside the area and he slammed the ball wide of goalkeeper Ronwen Williams and into the net in northeastern city of Mbombela.
Orlando Pirates beat Mamelodi Sundowns 2-1 on Saturday 1 June 2024,in the FA Cup final. Picture: @orlandopirates/ X.
MBOMBELA - Substitute Relebohile Mofokeng scored in added time to give Orlando Pirates a dramatic 2-1 victory over Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday in the South African FA Cup final.
After a free-kick, the ball was crossed to the 19-year-old inside the area and he slammed the ball wide of goalkeeper Ronwen Williams and into the net in northeastern city of Mbombela.
Brazilian Lucas Ribeiro had a penalty saved by Pirates goalkeeper Sipho Chaine in the first half before Themba Zwane put Sundowns ahead on 54 minutes.
Pirates levelled after 71 minutes when Patrick Maswanganyi was fouled and he converted the resultant penalty before a sell-out 43,500 crowd,
With extra time looming, Mofokeng struck to give Pirates a second straight success in the premier South African knockout competition.
"We gave our all to make the supporters happy. It was a tremendous comeback against excellent opponents," said Jose Riveiro, the Spanish coach of Pirates.
Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena said: "I don't know how we lost having dominated the final. Football can be cruel."
It was a sad end to the season for champions Sundowns, who went 38 matches unbeaten in all domestic competitions before losing their last league match and the cup final.