Ghana No. 1 Richard Ofori starred in posts for Orlando Pirates as they staged a second-half comeback to edge Maritzburg United 3-1 for a spot in the Nedbank Cup quarter-finals on Saturday evening.
The MTN8 winners came from behind to defeat Maritzburg United in the thrilling fixture.
Maritzburg broke the deadlock in the opening eight minutes when Thabiso Kutumela got on the end of Richard Ofori’s error outside the box to slot into an empty net.
The Buccaneers looked for a quick reply through a cutback from the left-side by Fortune Makaringe, but Mntambo tapped narrowly wide from a promising position in the six-yard area.
This didn’t seem to bother the Team of Choice who nearly had a second goal with a looping header in the area from Lungelo Bhengu, but goalkeeper Ofori tipped over the crossbar.
A second came within a minute after Deon Hotto met a low cross from the right-side to slide in at the back-post with Engelhardt in no man’s land.
Pirates were denied a third soon thereafter as a well-taken free-kick from outside the area by Vincent Pule crashed against the side-netting.
Pule weren’t prohibited again with 12 minutes to go as he reacted first to a loose ball from a spill by Engelhardt to riffle in from the near side.
The Buccaneers controlled the closing phases of the match to secure the come-from-behind victory and a quarter-final spot in the process.
Richard Ofori lasted the entire duration of the game against his former club.
