South Africa: Chiefs Book Date With United With 2-0 Victory Over Bucs
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Business Day (Johannesburg)
25 July 2008
Posted to the web 25 July 2008
Mninawa Ntloko
Port Elizabeth
Venezuela international Jose Torrealba walked off the EPRU stadium pitch to a standing ovation as he was substituted during Kaizer Chiefs' decisive Vodacom Challenge encounter against old enemy Orlando Pirates here last night.
The Chiefs striker was substituted midway into the second half but by the time he left the pitch, the damage had already been done after spearheading his side to a deserved 2-0 win.
Torrealba provided the opportunistic edge that Chiefs missed last season when he pounced on a free kick from Siphiwe Tshabalala to head in the opening goal of this enthralling encounter early in the first half.
The free kick came from a needless foul by Innocent Mdledle and Pirates were punished. Moeneeb Josephs did not know much about the goal as Torrealba darted with impressive speed and nodded the ball past the bemused Pirates goalkeeper.
That opening goal announced the former Mamelodi Sundowns striker's arrival at Naturena and the Venezuelan never looked back.
He had a busy evening and when he was not terrorising the visibly shaky Pirates rearguard led by Benson Mhlongo, he was sprawled on the EPRU stadium turf after yet another crunching tackle from the opposition.
Second half substitute Kaizer Motaung Junior made the game safe when he scored the second goal of the match soon after the restart from a Tshabalala free kick.
Torrealba - who had been kicked endlessly and looked to have had enough of the attention - exited the pitch after the second goal and even the Chiefs supporters were satisfied with his contribution.
The two goals came from set pieces and based on the evidence last night, aloof Pirates coach Rudi Krol still has a lot of work on his hands.
And worse still, the result meant that Pirates were dumped out of this year's edition of the annual tournament without scoring a single goal after defeats to both Chiefs and Manchester United (1-0).
The result itself left the unapproachable Krol with egg on his face as his attempt to play mind games with his Chiefs counterpart Muhsin Ertugral backfired spectacularly.
The bemused Krol watched as his best laid plans unravelled before his eyes as his first-choice combination boasting Bafana Bafana internationals Teko Modise, Josephs, Mhlongo, Excellent Walaza and Mdledle, among others, came unstuck against Chiefs.
Krol had fielded a weakened lineup against United in Durban on Tuesday in an obvious ploy to prevent Ertugral from getting an idea of the players Pirates were likely to field in last night's Vodacom Challenge eliminator.
But the plan backfired as Chiefs were still able to brush aside Pirates to score a psychological blow ahead of the start of the domestic premiership season next month.
This one was always going to be a thriller and soccer-starved Eastern Cape football lovers ensured a carnival atmosphere by arriving at the stadium in numbers.
Supporters from as far as the former Transkei were on their feet for most of the 90 minutes as the two sides served up a performance befitting of the occasion.
Ertugral had a satisfied grin on his face after the referee blew the final whistle as Chiefs are starting to look the part.
Relevant Links
Chiefs will now face United in tomorrow afternoon's Vodacom Challenge final in a repeat of the 2006 edition of the tournament.
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