The Buccaneers came from behind to beat Leopards 3-1, thanks to goals from Isaac Chansa and a Thulasizwe Mbuyane brace.
It is the Buccaneers’ first triumph in South Africa’s FA Cup since 1996 and sees them complete a treble of trophies, having also won the League and MTN8 in the 2010/11 season. They were the first team to achieve this feat in the PSL era.
As for Leopards, they followed in the footsteps of Mpumalanga Black Aces (2008) and University of Pretoria (2009) as First Division teams who lost in the Nedbank Cup Final against top-flight opposition.
Chidzambwa, the former Warriors coach, took charge of the Leopards after leaving Free State Stars and wrote a piece of history for himself after leading a modest side to the finals of the Nedbank Cup final.
Pirates started the stronger and dominated the first 20 minutes. However, the only clear-cut chance in the first half came from a mistake by Leopards defender Simphiwe Vezi, who handed Bongani Ndulula a close-range opportunity that was well-saved by goalkeeper Azwindini Maphaha.
After that Leopards seemed to grow in confidence and looked threatening on the counter-attack. The former Monomotapa striker Robert Ng’ambi was the dangerman, while midfielder Raymond Monama also proved a handful and he created the best chance of the first 45 minutes by gliding past two challenges before unselfishly feeding Ng’ambi, who failed to beat Senzo Meyiwa.
Nine minutes after the interval, Leopards stunned Bucs by taking the lead. Mongezi Bobe’s free kick took a couple of deflections, the last off centre-back Rooi Mahamutsa, and found its way into the back of the net. The goal stunned Pirates into life and they began to overrun Leopards’ midfield, who seemed to have exhausted themselves after their first-half efforts. An equaliser seemed inevitable and it arrived in the 72nd minute, with Isaac Chansa sweeping the ball home after good set-up play by Mbuyane. — Kick Off/ Our Staff.
