Yet again the Ghost was outnumbered by the peace loving Amakhosi by far. In fact the Pirates had to look around the stadium for their followers before they could perform the traditional salute. It was the well supported Kaizer Chiefs that kicked off the Golden Derby and it was the team in black and gold that enjoyed more of the possession in the opening moments of the match. It took all of thirty seconds for Chiefs to get the first free kick of the game, a minute later Pirates were also awarded a free kick. Both set pieces were wasted. In a very frustrating opening stanza for the Bucs, the midfield duo of Andile Jali and Isaac Chansa kept on losing possession with rather unusual wayward passing. Ruud Kroll told the press that they had spent the past week talking about not allowing the Chiefs` full backs to overlap and put in crosses. His players were obviously not listening or it could be they are still not used to his Dutch accent. Whatever it was, the men in white went to sleep in the eleventh minute and the overlapping Tau sent in a cross which was met by the much maligned Kaizer Motaung Jnr. First Blood Chiefs! The noise that greeted the goal could be heard in the surrounding cities.
The staging of a U2 concert in the world cup stadium did not help the derby as the pitch looked awful. As Mr Krol put it after the match, “A top match needs a top pitch and today the pitch was not top”. The pitch had nothing to do with Katlego Mashego hitting the ball across the goal when a pass could have resulted in an easy tap in for an unmarked Isaac Chansa. The Zambian let his greedy teammate know that he was less than impressed with him. In the 25th minute we had the first of two Pitch Fix breaks. Chiefs continued to see more of the ball, aided by those poor passing Pirates midfieders. The two Amakhosi central defenders had an easy time shutting down the isolated Mashego. National asset, Simpiwe Tshabalala looked like he was going to score a photocopy of that famous world cup goal until Oupa Manyesa spoilt the moment with a very good block.
If the first half belonged to the peace lovers, then the second half belonged to the Sea Robbers and Itumeleng Khune. Within the first minute after the restart he had to be alert to save a goal bound prod from Mahamootsa after a corner kick melee in the box. Then he had to be big to save a Mongala shot looked a sure bet to be the equalizer. Mahamootsa was causing problems with his long throw ins which had our number one goalkeeper punching, flapping and flying for a good part of the second half. The pressure also resulted in a yellow card for captain, Jimmy Tau. Referee brought attention to himself by waiving away a Pirates penalty appeal in the 69th minute. The second pitch fix break allowed Ruud Kroll to urge his players for more of the same. Impact player, Mark Mayambela was introduced to almost instant success. He definitely brings something different to the Pirates game every time he comes on. Some neat interpassing led to Happy Jele running off in celebration after putting the ball in the net. He obviously did not see Damon running towards the 18 area with his left hand pointing to the sky. It was ruled offside. Jele got off his knees and made sure the assistant referee knew that he got it that one wrong, brandishing a finger at the party spoiling official. Chiefs were now playing the Hoof and Hope type of football as the Bucs boys sensed blood. The Amakhosi bench started ringing in the time consuming substitutes with Tshabalala limping off instead of using the much faster stretcher. Yende replaced him and Musona was pulled out for Abia Nale. Orlando Pirates and Thulasizwe Mbuyane in particular have a made a tradition of scoring goals very late in games this season. Deep into injury time, with the Amakhosi PRO and 85 000 fans already celebrating, Mbuyane rose to head home a Ndumiso Mabhena cross. The noise levels broke through the sound barrier as The Ghost had the last laugh and celebrated the draw as if it was their biggest win of the season. Even the coach had to be corrected by his counterpart after calling the result a win. Man of the match, Khune was inconsolable as he made his way to the interview area. It might as well have been a loss!
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