Warriors’ midfielder Willard Katsande finally made his long-awaited debut for Kaizer Chiefs in the MTN 8 Cup soccer final but his night ended in disappointment when his new club succumbed to an extra- time 1-0 defeat to perennial rivals Orlando Pirates at FNB Stadium on Saturday.
Katsande, who got his work permit on the eve of the big match, came in as a second half substitute for Simphiwe Tshabalala in the 81st minute.
The 25-year-old tried his best to propel his team to victory with four shots at goal, but could not find that elusive goal which could have saved his team from defeat.
The former Highway and Gunners midfielder was snatched by Amakhosi last month together with Warriors teammate Lincoln Zvasiya, but the duo had not seen action for their new paymasters owing to delayed issuance of their work permits. Three other Warriors players also featured for the Naturena club on Saturday.
The hard-working and evergreen midfield workhorse Tinashe Nengomasha, hard-tackling Thomas Svesve and smart leftback Zhaimu Jambo played the whole match which stretched into extra time.
Orlando Pirates’ Oupa Manyisa was once again the hero for the Buccaneers, scoring early in the second half of extra-time in a match that saw few goal-scoring opportunities created.
Pirates have now won four of the last five trophies on offer and this victory over Amakhosi is their first over their arch-rivals in a cup final since 1988.
Goalmouth action was pretty rare in the first half of regulation time, with the teams more or less cancelling each other out in the middle of the park.
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Nengomasha was perhaps the most prominent player, bossing the midfield battle against Andile Jali and Oupa Manyisa.
Yet a half in which a defensive midfielder is the best player tells its own story: fluent attacking play was hard to come by and neither team was able to create any meaningful chances.
