Pirates beat Chiefs to set up Carling Cup final against Sundowns

Orlando Pirates claimed Soweto derby bragging rights, edging rivals Kaizer Chiefs 6-5 in a penalty shootout in their Carling Black Label Cup semi-final on Saturday at FNB Stadium.

Sifiso Hlanti skied his penalty, while Vincent Pule slotted his spot kick straight down the middle to ensure the Buccaneers advance to the final.

Pirates set up a mouth-watering finale against Mamelodi Sundowns, who beat AmaZulu in the earlier semi-final on the day.

There was little to no spark in the highly anticipated encounter as both teams displayed poor ball-playing abilities on a wet surface following rainfall at the 90 000-seater arena.

But there was a moment of madness when Thapelo Xoki's free-kick in the first half was palmed away from Amakhosi shot-stopper Brandon Petersen as the ball was curling towards goal.

Chiefs responded equally as Ben Motshwari was despatched by Khama Billiat and slotted a through ball towards Kgaogelo Sekgota.

The hard-running Bafana attacking midfielder was clean on goal. Still, the desperation of Bandile Shandu showed as he sprinted through to slide in and block Sekgota's shot, with Bucs goalkeeper Siyabonga Mpontshane breathing a sigh of relief.

Despite the defeat, Amakhosi will still get to entertain the thousands of fans at FNB Stadium as they meet Usuthu in the third/fourth-place encounter ahead of the final.

The final will kick-off at 17:15.