{"id":33067,"date":"2025-10-27T09:09:22","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T07:09:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/?p=33067"},"modified":"2026-03-12T09:44:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T07:44:05","slug":"orlando-pirates-caf-journey-ends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/orlando-pirates-caf-journey-ends\/","title":{"rendered":"Orlando Pirates bow out of CAF Champions League after shootout loss"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Orlando Pirates\u2019 hopes of another deep run in the CAF Champions League were crushed at home on Saturday, as they suffered a heartbreaking penalty shootout defeat to Saint-\u00c9loi Lupopo at Orlando Stadium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Buccaneers staged an incredible comeback to win 3-0 on the day, overturning their first-leg deficit and forcing penalties after a 3-3 aggregate draw. But once again, the drama of a shootout proved cruel, as Lupopo held their nerve to advance 5-4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"et\" dir=\"ltr\">\u2620\ufe0f FT |  <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/orlandopirates?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@orlandopirates<\/a> 3 &#8211; 0 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/fcsteloilupopo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@fcsteloilupopo<\/a> [Agg: 3 (4) &#8211; 3 (5)]<br><br>\ud83e\udd45 Nemtajela 39&#39;, Mbuthuma 68&#39;, Appollis 95&#39;<br><br>\u26ab\u26aa\ud83d\udd34\u2b50<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/MatchDay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#MatchDay<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/OrlandoPirates?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#OrlandoPirates<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/OnceAlways?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#OnceAlways<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/SVRpHNjWQp\">pic.twitter.com\/SVRpHNjWQp<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Orlando Pirates (@orlandopirates) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/orlandopirates\/status\/1982107011564118276?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">October 25, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-comeback-filled-with-belief\"><strong>A comeback filled with belief<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Needing three goals to stay alive, Pirates attacked with intent from the start. Coach Abdeslam Ouaddou opted for pace and movement up front rather than a traditional striker, trusting Oswin Appollis, Patrick Maswanganyi, and Tshepang Moremi to lead the line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After waves of possession, Pirates finally found a breakthrough in the 38th minute. Midfielder Masindi Nemtajela picked off a loose ball and drilled home from the edge of the box, sparking belief among the home crowd. But that joy was quickly tempered by chaos, as Moremi and Lupopo\u2019s defender were both shown red cards after a scuffle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-2391969428\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-momentum-builds-in-soweto\"><strong>Momentum builds in Soweto<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Buccaneers refused to let up. Substitute Yanela Mbuthuma made an immediate impact in the second half, heading in Kabelo Dlamini\u2019s pinpoint corner to bring the aggregate score to 3-2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With time running out, Pirates kept piling on the pressure. The moment finally came deep into injury time when Appollis\u2019 long-range shot took a deflection and flew past Lupopo keeper Simon Omossola, sending the stadium into a frenzy and the tie to penalties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-agony-from-the-spot\"><strong>Agony from the spot<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The penalty shootout was tense and unpredictable. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.orlandopiratesfc.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pirates<\/a> goalkeeper Sipho Chaine could not pull off a save, misses from Deon Hotto and Mbuthuma proved costly. Lupopo stayed composed to claim a 5-4 victory and a place in the next round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The defeat leaves Pirates out of Africa\u2019s top club competition earlier than expected, a blow considering their semi-final run last season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-2858061325\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-ouaddou-praises-effort-despite-exit\"><strong>Ouaddou praises effort despite exit<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou expressed pride in his players\u2019 fighting spirit despite the heartbreak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s part of the game,\u201d Ouaddou told <em>SABC Sport<\/em>. \u201cWe did the job. It was not easy to come back and score three goals. I have nothing but respect for the players\u2019 effort. The best team didn\u2019t go through tonight, but we keep working.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>His words reflected the mood across Soweto, pride mixed with pain after a performance that showed courage but fell short of reward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/how-the-dstv-diski-challenge-transformed-south-african-football\/\">How the DStv Diski Challenge Transformed South African Football<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Orlando Pirates now turn their attention to domestic competitions and the Carling Knockout Cup. The display at Orlando Stadium will serve as both inspiration and warning: dominance means little without precision at the decisive moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the fans, it was another reminder of football\u2019s thin line between triumph and tragedy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Heartbreak in Soweto. Orlando Pirates\u2019 CAF journey ends after a 3-0 comeback and penalty drama against Saint-\u00c9loi Lupopo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":33069,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"Heartbreak in Soweto. Orlando Pirates\u2019 CAF journey ends after a 3-0 comeback and penalty drama against Saint-\u00c9loi Lupopo.","footnotes":""},"categories":[56,64],"tags":[633,273],"class_list":{"0":"post-33067","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"category-sports-news","9":"tag-caf-champions-league","10":"tag-orlando-pirates"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33067"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33067\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33071,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33067\/revisions\/33071"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}