After a thrilling 3-2 victory over Orlando Pirates at Orlando Stadium on Saturday afternoon, Magesi advanced to the next round of the Carling Knockout in an exciting match that marked the return of South African football.
Early in the game, Deano van Rooyen showed off his attacking intent along the right side of the pitch, giving the Buccaneers a dynamic aspect.
But in the opening ten minutes, Magesi counterattacked quickly after absorbing early pressure from the home squad.
Midway through the first half, the Pirates controlled the ball possession count and manoeuvred the ball easily within the Magesi half.
Once more, the Soweto giants found openings in large sections of the pitch and used direct running on the outside to take the game to their rivals.
However, Magesi was the first to score just after the half-hour mark, with Delano Abrahams also finding his way onto the scoreboard.
Magesi pressed Pirates back in their own box during their greatest passing sequence of the game.
Godfrey Mashigo then found Abrahams with a precise cross into the box, and the full-back headed the ball into the net.
Shortly before halftime, Thabiso Sesane’s own goal gave Magesi a two goal lead.
Tshepo Kakora squared the ball across the six-yard box following another clever offensive play towards the Pirates’ 18-yard area.
The ball ricocheted off Sesane’s knees and over the line.
Then, in the 47th minute, after Deolin Mekoa had ran wild at the Pirates defence and was taken down in the area, Magesi were awarded a penalty in a move that shocked the Pirates bench.
Edmore Chirambadare stepped up to take his shot, but Sipho Chaine stopped it.
The attacker then headed a short distance away.
Following the restart, Pirates dominated possession of the ball and gave the Magesi custodian a few unsteady moments when under duress.
Nevertheless, Magesi performed admirably in blocking the home team’s offensive advances.
In the 64th minute, Tshegofatso Mabasa had a chance to score after hitting the crossbar with a shot from within the box.
Pirates applied more pressure as the clock ran out, spending the most of their play within the Magesi half.
After some persistent pressure from the home team, Pirates finally pulled one back in the 86th minute when Kabelo Dlamini put his name to the scoreboard.
Three minutes later, with momentum building, the Buccaneers added a second goal when Evidence Makgopa joined Dlamini on the scoreboard.
Pirates threw everything at Magesi in the last moments of the game, but Magesi advanced to the Carling Knockout round as Pirates failed to capitalise on any of their scoring opportunities.
