Orlando Pirates fans are smiling as their team pushes for the Betway Premiership title.
Image: BackpagePix
COMMENT
Eight years ago, the Mother City was the site of a profound footballing tragedy. If that sounds melodramatic, consider what has transpired since.
I still vividly remember the sight of Orlando Pirates players, draped in their black-and-white, three-stripe uniforms, collapsing on the DHL Stadium turf. It wasn't just the physical exhaustion of 90 gruelling minutes; it was the crushing, suffocating weight of a dream that had been extinguished right in front of them.
Pirates had arrived in Cape Town buzzing with genuine title credentials. Trailing Mamelodi Sundowns by a mere four points with only two matches to play, the maths was simple: beat a stubborn Cape Town City — ironically coached by Pirates legend Benni McCarthy — while praying the now-defunct Ajax Cape Town could somehow trip up the Brazilians in Atteridgeville.
Instead, what unfolded was a masterclass in despair.
Ayanda Patosi's fantastic strike didn't just find the back of the net; it pierced the very heart of Pirates' championship hopes.
The pressure had simply become too much to bear. While Pirates faltered in the Cape, Sundowns ruthlessly dispatched the Urban Warriors 3-1, wrapping both hands around the league title.
To add salt to an already gaping wound, the final weekend saw Pirates secure a hollow victory while the newly crowned champions stumbled. The final 2018/19 standings showed a mere two-point gap between the two sides.
That agonising afternoon ultimately set the tone for nearly a decade of South African football, with Sundowns building an untouchable dynasty during that period.
Aside from Kaizer Chiefs' spirited but ultimately doomed title push the following season, the league has been a monopolised procession.
The chasing pack hasn't just been beaten over the last eight years; they have been routinely humiliated into submission. The numbers don't lie. For the past three seasons, Sundowns have been runaway champions with a gap of 12 points (2024/25), 23 points (2023/24), and 26 points (2022/23) separating them from their nearest challengers.
Nobody has come anywhere close to pushing Sundowns to the brink of panic. The tension, the final-day mathematics, and the sheer unpredictability of a title race vanished.
Therefore, the irony of Pirates facing Stellenbosch at the Athlone Stadium on Tuesday evening was not lost on me.
After all these years, once again, the Sea Robbers' championship aspirations hinged on a critical encounter in Cape Town.
But on this occasion, there would be no tears. Instead, it was a joyous celebration of singing and dancing in the stands with a sold-out crowd — primarily Pirates supporters — spurring on their team to a comfortable 2-0 victory.
The ghosts of eight years ago had been vanquished, with the three points collected moving Pirates to within touching distance of Sundowns with three matches remaining.
Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou is certainly living every moment of the title run-in with the supporters.
"It creates a lot of interest for the fans, for South African fans. It's not funny when 10 games before the end of the season, you see the team is winning the title. So for you as a fan, if you know at the beginning of the season who is going to be champion, you lose interest," Ouaddou said.
"The most important [thing] is to give this competitiveness to the PSL until the end. I think it was really a good test for us because you don't know what will happen in the next few matches against the rival. So for us, the dream is still here. The players are going to fight.
"And it's possible, like I said at the beginning of the season, it's possible to fight until the last game and maybe the people will know the champion at the end of the last game."
Pirates may not go on to fulfil their dreams by breaking Sundowns' stranglehold on domestic football, as their destiny is linked to Miguel Cardoso's team not collecting the maximum nine points on offer.
But even if the Betway Premiership trophy does indeed return to Chloorkop for a record 19th time and not to Orlando Stadium, Pirates deserve their flowers for infusing fresh excitement back into South African football.