By Eshlin Vedan 
May 23, 2021
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DURBAN – Commenting on the Live stream of the Orlando Pirates vs Raja Casablanca game on Facebook, some Pirates fans indicated that they would stop wasting their data and rather focus on watching the English Premier League games.
That was an apt summation of the game from a Pirates perspective, their performance was plain embarrassing to say the least as they lost 4-0, having conceded all goals in the first half.
Pirates worst nightmares came to fruition, notably in the first half.
Raja took the lead in the eighth minute through Ben Malango who caused their defence trouble in the first leg as he headed beyond the reach of Wayne Sandilands.
Pirates did have their chances to draw level between the 13th and 15th minute as Innocent Maela’s shot was just slightly wide before Casablanca keeper Anas Zniti made a fine save to deny Vincent Pule.
The Green Eagles scored their second in the 22nd minute as Zakaria El Wardi struck the ball into the net following a deft assist from Soufiane Rahimi.
Nine minutes later, Rahimi went on to turn from assist provider to goal scorer as he took advantage of Pirates throwing lesser men in defence, producing an eye-catching individual run before neatly slotting the ball beyond the reach of Sandilands.
Pirates day went from bad to worse in the 36th minute as DR Congo international Malango scored his second of the game with Rahimi again the assist provider.
Pirates appeared to be shell-shocked with the way things were not going according to plan, something which was evident in their play towards the end of the opening 45 minutes.
Wayde Jooste tried his luck from range in the 41st minute, sending in a shot which was easily saved by Zniti before the utility man again attempted a volley in second-half stoppage time which went across the face of goal.
For the most part, second half resembled a boring movie as played sides play suggested that they just wanted to get the game over and done with.
Rahimi did try to find his second in the 49th minute but this time, Sandilands produced a comfortable save to deny the man who caused nightmares for the Sea Robbers defence in the first half.
Pirates were better, though that may have also been because Raja began to retreat with the game and tie wrapped up.
The result meant that Pirates lost the tie 4-1 on aggregate and means that no South African team will feature in the semi-final of the Confederation Cup, a tournament which no Premier Soccer League (PSL) side has yet won.
Pirates’ focus will now turn back onto the DSTV Premiership where they have four remaining fixtures, against AmaZulu, TS Galaxy, and Baroka FC before concluding the season with a home fixture against Nedbank Cup champions Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila (TTM).
IOL Sport