2020–21 Orlando Pirates F.C. season

The 2020–21 season was Orlando Pirates F.C. 25th season in the South African Premier Division, the highest division of South African football league system. Orlando Pirates F.C. participated in the MTN 8 Cup , CAF Confederation Cup and the Nedbank Cup.

Orlando Pirates F.C.
2020–21 season
ChairmanIrvin Khoza
ManagerJosef Zinnbauer
DStv Premiership3rd ( CAF Confederation Cup)
MTN 8Winners
Nedbank CupQuarter-finals
CAF Confederation CupQuarter-finals
Top goalscorerLeague: Vincent Pule (6)
All: Vincent Pule (9)
Highest home attendanceNone
Lowest home attendanceNone

Review and events
See also: 2020-21 South African Premier Division

Orlando Pirates F.C. won the MTN 8 cup and finished 3rd in the 2020–21 DStv Premiership and Qualified for the 2021-22 CAF Confederation Cup following Kaizer Chiefs loss to Egyptian Club Al Ahly SC in the 2020-21 CAF Champions League final. The team also reached the quarter-finals of the 2020-21 CAF Confederation Cup but were knocked out by Moroccan Club Raja Casablanca and eventual winners of the 2020-21 CAF Confederation Cup. In the Nedbank Cup , Orlando Pirates F.C. was knocked out by Mamelodi Sundowns F.C. The MTN 8 Triumph ended Orlando Pirates F.C. almost 6 year trophy drought since last winning a major cup in 2014 , by winning the 2013–14 Nedbank Cup.

Players

First team squad
As of 16 October 2020[1]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 DF South Africa RSA James Monyane
3 MF South Africa RSA Thembinkosi Lorch
4 DF South Africa RSA Happy Jele (captain)
5 DF South Africa RSA Ntsikelelo Nyauza
6 MF South Africa RSA Ben Motshwari
7 FW Malawi MWI Gabadinho Mhango
8 MF South Africa RSA Siphesihle Ndlovu
9 FW South Africa RSA Tshegofatso Mabasa
11 MF Namibia NAM Deon Hotto
12 MF South Africa RSA Collins Makgaka
14 DF South Africa RSA Thulani Hlatshwayo
15 MF South Africa RSA Fortune Makaringe
16 MF South Africa RSA Thabang Monare
17 DF South Africa RSA Wayde Jooste
18 MF South Africa RSA Kabelo Dlamini
19 DF South Africa RSA Bongani Sam
21 MF South Africa RSA Nkanyiso Zungu
23 DF South Africa RSA Innocent Maela
25 FW South Africa RSA Zakhele Lepasa
26 FW Zambia ZAM Austin Muwowo
29 DF South Africa RSA Paseka Mako
30 GK South Africa RSA Wayne Sandilands
No. Pos. Nation Player
31 GK Ghana GHA Richard Ofori
32 MF South Africa RSA Linda Mntambo
37 FW Zimbabwe ZIM Terrence Dzvukamanja
39 FW Democratic Republic of the Congo COD Jean-Marc Makusu Mundele
40 GK South Africa RSA Siyabonga Mpontshane
44 MF South Africa RSA Abel Mabaso
45 FW South Africa RSA Vincent Pule

Competitions

DStv Premiership
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Mamelodi Sundowns (C,Q) 30 19 10 1 49 14 +35 67 Qualification for Champions League
2 AmaZulu (Q) 30 15 9 6 38 23 +15 54
3 Orlando Pirates(Q) 30 13 11 6 33 22 +11 50 Qualification for Confederation Cup
4 Lamontville Golden Arrows 30 11 14 5 40 28 +12 47
5 SuperSport United 30 11 12 7 37 31 +6 45
6 Moroka Swallows 30 8 20 2 31 23 +8 44
7 Cape Town City 30 10 11 9 42 40 +2 41
8 Kaizer Chiefs 30 8 12 10 34 37 −3 36
9 TS Galaxy 30 9 9 12 26 31 −5 36
10 Baroka 30 7 13 10 28 36 −8 34
11 Bloemfontein Celtic 30 6 14 10 30 35 −5 32
12 Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila 30 7 10 13 19 35 −16 31
13 Maritzburg United 30 7 9 14 27 36 −9 30
14 Stellenbosch 30 5 14 11 26 32 −6 29
15 Chippa United 30 5 12 13 24 37 −13 27 Qualification for Playoffs
16 Black Leopards (R) 30 5 8 17 23 47 −24 23 Relegation to the First Division
Updated to match(es) played on 5 June 2021. Source: Premier Soccer League

Orlando Pirates F.C. finished the season 3rd , and qualified for the 2021-22 CAF Confederation Cup .

MTN 8 Cup

Quarter-finals

Orlando Pirates1–0Cape Town City
Dzvukamanja 23' Report
Attendance: 0

Semi-finals

1st Leg

Orlando Pirates3–0Kaizer Chiefs
Z.Lepasa 26'
V.Pule 66'
T.Lorch 81'
Attendance: 0
Referee: Eugene Ndluli

2nd Leg

Kaizer Chiefs0–2Orlando Pirates
Report 59' F.Makaringe
80' L.Mntambo

Orlando Pirates won 5–0 on aggregate

Final

Bloemfontein Celtic1–2Orlando Pirates
Luthuli 4' Report Hotto 32'
Lorch 53'
Referee: Luxolo Badi

Luthuli scores his goal after a corner kick for Bloemfontein Celtic in the 4th minute. Orlando Pirates player Thabang Monare received an injury and was replaced by Thembinkosi lorch. In the 32nd minute, Hotto levels the matter for Orlando Pirates and the score was 1–1. After half time Thembinkosi lorch was fouled in the box and the referee called for a penalty in which was taken by lorch and made it 2–1 for Pirates scoring his second goal in the competition. The match ended in 2–1 and Pirates took the trophy ending their six-year trophy drought.

Nedbank Cup

Second round

Orlando Pirates F.C. entered the second Round as by competitions rules that all 16 Premier Soccer League (PSL) clubs start the competition at the second round.

Orlando Pirates was drawn with National First Division (NFD) club Uthongathi F.C.

6 February 2021 Orlando Pirates 1–0UthongathiSoweto, Johannesburg
14:00 Mhango 63' Stadium: Orlando Stadium

Third round

27 February 2021 Maritzburg United1–3 Orlando Pirates Pietermaritzburg
18:00 Kutumela 9' Dlamini 56'
Hotto 57'
Pule 78'		 Stadium: Harry Gwala Stadium

Quarter-finals

15 April 2021 Mamelodi Sundowns 4–1Orlando PiratesArcadia, Pretoria
17:30 Shalulile 12'
Zwane 49'
Kapinga 78'
Kekana 86'		 Mabaso 33' Stadium: Loftus Versfeld Stadium

Orlando Pirates journey came to an end as they were eliminated by Mamelodi Sundowns.

International Competitions

CAF Confederation Cup

Orlando Pirates F.C. entered the 2020-21 CAF Confederation Cup first round , as they had 8pts from the 2018-19 CAF Champions League run.

First round
22 December 2020 (2020-12-22) Sagrada Esperança Angola 0–1 South Africa Orlando Pirates Estádio dos Coqueiros, Luanda
15:00 UTC+1 Report
Referee: Audrick Nkole (Zambia)
6 January 2021 (2021-01-06) Orlando Pirates South Africa Cancelled Angola Sagrada Esperança Johannesburg Stadium, Johannesburg
19:00 UTC+2 Report

Orlando Pirates won on walkover after Sagrada Esperança withdrew from the second leg in South Africa citing health concerns caused due to the new COVID-19 variant.[2]

Play-off round
14 February 2021 (2021-02-14) Jwaneng Galaxy Botswana 0–3 South Africa Orlando Pirates Botswana National Stadium, Gaborone
15:00 UTC+2 Report
Referee: Mathews Hamalila (Zambia)
21 February 2021 (2021-02-21) Orlando Pirates South Africa 1–0 Botswana Jwaneng Galaxy Orlando Stadium, Soweto
17:00 UTC+2
  • Mntambo 55'
 Report Referee: Norman Matemera (Zimbabwe)

Orlando Pirates won 4–0 on aggregate

Group stage

Orlando Pirates F.C. were drawn into group A , after securing a slot from the play-off round.

Group A
Main article: 2020–21 CAF Confederation Cup group stage § Group A

Orlando Pirates F.C. finished the group as Runners-up.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ENY ORL ESS AHL
1 Nigeria Enyimba 6 3 0 3 6 8 −2 9[lower-alpha 1] Advance to knockout stage — 1–0 2–1 2–1
2 South Africa Orlando Pirates 6 2 3 1 5 2 +3 9[lower-alpha 1] 2–1 — 0–0 3–0
3 Algeria ES Sétif 6 2 2 2 5 3 +2 8 3–0 0–0 — 1–0
4 Libya Al Ahly Benghazi 6 2 1 3 3 6 −3 7 1–0 0–0 1–0 —
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. Tied on head-to-head points (3), on head-to-head goal difference (0) and on head-to-head goals scored (2). Head-to-head away goals scored: Enyimba 1, Orlando Pirates 0.
10 March 2021 (2021-03-10) ES Sétif Algeria 0–0 South Africa Orlando Pirates Accra Sports Stadium, Accra (Ghana)[note 1]
19:00 (19:00 UTC±0) Report Referee: Bakary Gassama (Gambia)
17 March 2021 (2021-03-17) Orlando Pirates South Africa 2–1 Nigeria Enyimba Orlando Stadium, Johannesburg
16:00 (18:00 UTC+2)
Report
Referee: Blaise Yuven Ngwa (Cameroon)
4 April 2021 (2021-04-04) Al Ahly Benghazi Libya 0–0 South Africa Orlando Pirates Benina Martyrs Stadium, Benghazi
19:00 (21:00 UTC+2) Report Referee: Mahmood Ismail (Sudan)
11 April 2021 (2021-04-11) Orlando Pirates South Africa 3–0 Libya Al Ahly Benghazi Orlando Stadium, Johannesburg
16:00 (18:00 UTC+2)
Report Referee: Kalilou Traoré (Ivory Coast)
21 April 2021 (2021-04-21) Orlando Pirates South Africa 0–0 Algeria ES Sétif Orlando Stadium, Johannesburg
13:00 (15:00 UTC+2) Report Referee: Celso Alvação (Mozambique)
28 April 2021 (2021-04-28) Enyimba Nigeria 1–0 South Africa Orlando Pirates Enyimba International Stadium, Aba
21:00 (22:00 UTC+1)
  • Olisema 90+5'
 Report Referee: Helder Martins de Carvalho (Angola)

Quarter-finals
16 May 2021 (2021-05-16) Orlando Pirates South Africa 1–1 Morocco Raja Casablanca Orlando Stadium, Johannesburg
13:00 (15:00 UTC+2)
Report
Referee: Peter Waweru (Kenya)
23 May 2021 (2021-05-23) Raja Casablanca Morocco 4–0 South Africa Orlando Pirates Stade Mohammed V, Casablanca
16:00 (17:00 UTC+1)
Report Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal (Algeria)

Raja Casablanca won 5–1 on aggregate.

Summary

Orlando Pirates F.C. CAF Confederation Cup run came to an end after being eliminated by Moroccan Club Raja Casablanca.

Club awards

Orlando Pirates F.C. Season Awards :

Player of the Season - Deon Hotto and Vincent Pule (Tie)

Fan's player of the season - Deon Hotto and Vincent Pule (Tie)

Golden Boot Winner - Vincent Pule (9 goals in all competitions )

Prospect of the Season - Boitumelo Radiopane (MDC)

Goal of the Season - Vincent Pule on the turn vs Kaizer Chiefs F.C.

Save of the Season - Last minute save by Richard Ofori vs Bloemfontein Celtic F.C.

Notes
  1. The ES Sétif v Orlando Pirates match, originally scheduled to be played at Stade 8 Mai 1945, Sétif, was played outside Algeria at Accra Sports Stadium, Accra (Ghana) due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic imposed by Algeria on travelers from South Africa out of concern of the variant 501.V2.[3]

References
  1. "Official Jersey Numbers Revealed | Orlando Pirates Football Club". www.orlandopiratesfc.com.
  2. Madyira, Michael (5 January 2021). "Safa reacts to Orlando Pirates' opponents Sagrada Esperanca pulling out without consulting local authorities". Goal. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  3. "وفاق سطيف الجزائري يستضيف أورلاندو بايرتس الجنوب أفريقي في غانا" [Ghana set to host CCC tie between Algeria's ES Sétif and Orlando Pirates of South Africa]. Shorouk News (in Arabic). 1 March 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
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