If it helps supporters of underdogs Orlando Pirates going into Saturday’s MTN8 final against hot favourites Mamelodi Sundowns at Moses Mabhida in Durban, the Buccaneers have a winning record at the imposing stadium.
Orlando Pirates going into Saturday’s MTN8 final against hot favourites Mamelodi Sundowns at Moses Mabhida in Durban, the Buccaneers have a winning record at the imposing stadium.
This will be Pirates’ ninth final at the stadium built for the 2010 World Cup, including winning the first trophy to be decided there in 2010, just months after the World Cup final, when they edged Moroka Swallows on post-match penalties to win the MTN8.
That was one of five trophy successes at Moses Mabhida, while they have lost the other three. It is made up of MTN8 success in 2010, 2020 and last season, plus the 2011 Telkom Knockout and the 2014 Nedbank Cup final. Pirates lost the 2013 MTN8 final on penalties to Platinum Stars and then again the next year to Kaizer Chiefs when Tefu Mashamaite scored the only goal of the game.
Bucs were also handed a hiding in the 2017 Nedbank Cup final by SuperSport United. Pirates’ five trophy successes at Moses Mabhida is the best record of any team – two more than Sundowns and three more than Chiefs and SuperSport United. Other trophy winners at the Durban venue have been Bloemfontein Celtic, Cape Town City Platinum Stars and second division giant killers TS Galaxy.
The Durban stadium has taken over from Soccer City as the cup final venue of choice for the Premier Soccer League since the 2010 World Cup. There have been 36 domestic cup finals since the start of the 2010/11 season, when the PSL could use all the new stadiums built for the World Cup. Of those almost half have been at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, where Saturday’s final will be the 16th in 14 seasons.
There have been another 10 venues that have hosted finals since 2010, but nothing like the number of games handed to Durban.Orlando Stadium (5), Mbombela Stadium (3), Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (3) and Peter Mokaba Stadium (2) have also hosted finals, as well as only two at Soccer City, which has lost its designation as the home of South African football.
There has also been a single final in the last 13 years at the Cape Town Stadium, Free State Stadium, Loftus Versfeld, Princess Magogo in KwaMashu and the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace.
(story credit: Mark Gleeson)
