Orlando Pirates and Pyramids FC played to a goalless draw in the first-leg of the CAF Champions League semi-finals on Saturday evening.
Pirates welcomed goalkeeper Sipho Chaine back between the sticks while Deon Hotto, Thalente Mbatha and Tshegofatso Mabasa were also restored from the side that started the win over Marumo Gallants FC last Sunday.
The in-form Buccaneers were eager to register the opener earlier on and saw Patrick Maswanganyi go wide of the near post with a low penetrative shot.
Pyramids weren’t overawed by their host, and managed to go high and wide and unsettled the defensive-shape of the Buccaneers through the runs of Mostafa Fathi notably.
Pirates remained resolute though and constantly stretched the defence with the overlapping runs of Hotto and Deano Van Rooyen.
However, the Buccaneers were stunned on the stroke of halftime when Fiston Mayele pounced on a defensive error by Mbekezeli Mbokazi, but it was disallowed for offside after a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review.
The chance seemed to wake the Buccaneers up after the break and had them go all out for the opener where a curler outside the area by Maswanganyi deflected wide of the top corner.
Pyramids missed a golden chance ten minutes later when a cross from the right-side entered into the area and saw Mayele head over from close-range.
The Buccaneers continued to live on the edge and conceded another chance when Blati Toure slammed a loose ball wide of the near post, while Thalente Mbatha dragged wide of the top corner after pouncing on a forward pass a few minutes later.
Pyramids once again found the net with a header from Walid El Karti, but a hand-ball in the build-up saw the goal disallowed following a pitch-side review by the referee.
With time running out, the Buccaneers successfully played out the final minutes and claimed a first-leg draw, with the return-leg taking place next weekend in Cairo.
Confirmed line-ups:
Orlando Pirates: Chaine, Van Rooyen, Hotto, Sibisi, Mbokazi, Makhaula, Mofokeng, Mbatha, Mabasa, Maswanganyi, Nkota.
Subs: Buthelezi, Xoki, Mako, Shandu, Ndlozi, Ndlondlo, Dlamini, Radiopane, Makgopa.
Pyramids: El-Shenawy, Sami, Marie, Hamdy, Lashin, El-Karty, Toure, Fathy, Hafez, Mayele
