adminJOHANNESBURG. — Orlando Pirates defender Rooi Mahamutsa reveals the team felt like they were representing the entire South Africa in their CAF Confederation Cup win on Sunday.
The Buccaneers beat Egyptian giants Al-Ahly 4-3 in Egypt to advance to the final of the competition 5-3 on aggregate across the two-leg encounter.
The Sea Robbers will meet Tunisian club Etoile du Sahel, who beat another Egyptian club Zamalek, in the final.
“Tonight was all about pride,” Mahamutsa told the club’s website. “It wasn’t an easy match by any means. They made it very difficult for us to get comfortable, however we showed enough character in the second half and bounced back.
“It is hard to explain the process we went through but it’s as if we all were in tune with what we had to do. After all, this match was more than just a match for us as players or the club; it was for the millions of supporters back home who have supported us through and through; it was also about the pride of the nation.
“As the only Southern African team in the competition, we knew we had the responsibility to represent our country the way it should be represented,” he concluded.
The climax of the second-tier CAF club competition is set for successive weekends between November 20 and 29 with the first game in South Africa.
Etoile won the Confederation Cup in 2006 and were runners-up two years later while Pirates will be first-time finalists.
Defeat for Ahly, winners of a record 19 CAF titles, completed a miserable weekend for Egyptian clubs with Cairo neighbours Zamalek also bowing out despite a gallant second-leg comeback.
Seemingly doomed having lost 5-1 at Etoile, Zamalek shrugged off having Ali Gabr red-carded in the fifth minute to win 3-0 but were eliminated 5-4 on aggregate.
Kermit Erasmus, Thamsanqa Gabuza, Thabo Matlaba and Thabo Rakhale scored for Pirates at the New Suez Stadium east of Cairo.
Gabonese Malick Evouna struck in each half to give Ahly a 2-0 lead on the night and a one-goal overall advantage, and Amr Gamal was the other scorer for the home side.
Pirates will be seeking a third piece of CAF silverware when they meet Etoile after winning the 1995 CAF Champions Cup (now CAF Champions League) and the CAF Super Cup the following year. — Supersport.com
Online Reporter