Nedbank Cup: Orlando Pirates draw Gallants, Kaizer Chiefs eye potential Mamelodi Sundowns showdown

Kaizer Chiefs will travel to either Mamelodi Sundowns or Sekhukhune United in the semi-finals of the 2025 Nedbank Cup after being drawn to face each other on Sunday.  

In the second semi-final, the defending champions Orlando Pirates will welcome Marumo Gallants at the Orlando Stadium. Bahlabane Ba Ntwa sealed their place in the last four by beating Motsepe Foundation Champion side Durban City, with the draw taking place immediately after. 

With their quarter-final clash postponed this past weekend, the eventual winner between Sundowns and Babina Noko will face a buoyant Amakhosi. Having had to come back from behind in the last 16 against TS Galaxy, the hosts made four changes to the starting XI that helped them progress in the last round. 

One of the changes made by coach Simo Dladla was the introduction of on-loan Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Luvuyo Phewa, who was making his first start for the club. Another man looking to prove a point was on-loan AmaZulu man Sede Dion, who was leading the line for the visitors and his combination with winger Junior showed early signs of danger. 

Zindonga perhaps should’ve put his side in front inside 10 minutes with two of the best chances of the opening half falling for him. The Zimbabwean-born attacker first fired the ball into the body of City goalkeeper Ayanda Mtshali in the eighth minute before failing to make contact with a well-weighted low cross two minutes later. 

From there onwards, the match went into somewhat of a lull for the over 35 minutes with very few chances created by either side and the game went into the break goalless. 

Dladla might have been considering the prospect of throwing in club top scorer this season Joslin Kamatuka at the break with his side having little to no joy in the attacking third. For visiting coach Abdeslam Ouaddou, this frustration would’ve lent more on the side of a failure to convert the two chances his side were able to conjure up. 

Looking to influence matters in the second half, City introduced a trio of substitutions in the 60th minute. Gallants’ reply was to bring on Gabadinho Mhango on the other end. 

It took the hosts’ new attack a few minutes before they combined to create a serious threat and that was also due to the addition of Kamatuka as well. 

Kamatuka and Gamildien bounced one twos of each other on the edge of the box before the latter flashed a hard hit pass across goal but no one was alive to the chance and the ball went out on the other side. 

The hosts looked a much better team with some of their regulars now on the pitch but their late pressure yielded no results as the two teams could not be separated after 90 minutes. 

The hot conditions in Durban played a huge part in how the extra time period went as the tempo slowed down with very little goalmouth chances created and the game went into the dreaded penalty shootout.