Mokobodi and Makgopa shine as Soweto giants dominate at home

ORLANDO Pirates showcased their deadly squad depth on Friday night, 23 October, as both established stars and rising talents helped the team hammer African Stars 4-0 at Orlando Amstel Arena.

The Soweto giants stormed into the CAF Champions League group stages with a 5-0 aggregate victory.

It was a massive statement performance built on defensive discipline—denying the visitors a single shot on target—and attacking brilliance.

Thapelo Mokobodi set the tone early, opening the scoring in the 17th minute after finishing off a pin-point low cross from Simphiwe Masilela.

Mokobodi almost bagged a second in the 27th minute as the Buccaneers kept African Stars under immense pressure.

Evidence Makgopa, who missed an initial chance late in the first half, made up for it by scoring in stoppage time to give Pirates a comfortable 2-0 lead going into the break.

The second half saw Pirates refuse to take their foot off the pedal. With the Sea Robbers pushing forward continuously, second-half substitute Mpho Padime experienced a dream moment, scoring his first senior goal shortly after coming on.

Makgopa then completed his brace in the 77th minute, firmly putting the result beyond doubt as African Stars battled in vain.

The joyous scenes in Soweto were not replicated across other South African camps.

In the rest of the CAF results, Mamelodi Sundowns crashed out of the Champions League following a 1-1 draw with Wiliete SC.

Furthermore, in the CAF Confederation Cup, Kaizer Chiefs suffered a painful elimination, losing 3-2 on penalties to Zambian side Red Arrows after their tie ended 1-1 on aggregate.