MTN 8 HISTORY
This will be the 12th meeting between the teams in the MTN 8 since their first clash in the competition in the 1990 quarterfinals where Sundowns defeated Pirates 6-1.
Of their previous 11 clashes in the tournament which have come across eight ties as they met twice in the 1992 semifinal as well as the 1993 semifinal as both these games needed replays. They also played two legs of the 2011/12 last four. Sundowns hold the edge winning four games, while Pirates have three wins in open play plus another one on penalties. The remaining three games games have ended in outright draws.
Between 1992 and 1995 the teams met in four successive MTN 8 tournaments.
In the 1992 MTN 8 semifinals the first leg ended goalless with Sundowns winning the replay 2-1 with the Malawian Cedric Nakhumwa scored a brace for the Brazilians. The competition was known as the BP Top8 back then.
The teams met again in the 1993 Semi-finals of the MTN 8 the first leg ended 1-1, the second followed suit and Pirates duly won 4-2 on penalties.
In 1994 it was a semifinal meeting between the teams which was won 2-0 by Sundowns while in 1995 a last eight meeting between the teams saw Pirates win 1-0.
The teams first clash in this competition in the PSL Era was in 2000-01, Pirates winning a semifinal encounter between them 2-1, in 2007-08 it was a meeting in the final which saw Sundowns win 1-0.
They last met in the MTN 8 in 2011-12 the only time since the tournament introduced a two- legged semifinal in the PSL Era in 2008-09, Pirates won the home first leg 3-2. The second with Sundowns as hosts ended 1-1, which saw Pirates progress to the final 4-3 on aggregate.
When the teams have met in the MTN 8 the winner of this tie has gone onto lift the trophy on five occasions out of eight and have made it to at least the final seven times, with Sundowns going all the way in 1990 and 2007-08. Pirates have managed to win the trophy after defeating Sundowns three times in the MTN 8 going on to be champions in 1993, 2000-01 and 2011-12.
Sundowns when overcoming Pirates in two MTN 8 semifinals in 1992 and 1994 have gone on to be runners up in two finals, losing on both occasions to Kaizer Chiefs.
In seven ties in the MTN 8 between the teams in the rounds before the final which excludes their 2007-08 clash in the final, the only time the winner of a meeting between these teams in the MTN 8 has not reached at least the final was in 1995, when Pirates defeated Sundowns in the Quarter-final but fell in the semifinals to Wits.
Of the previous 11 MTN 8 meetings between the teams 10 have produced goals, with Pirates scoring 11 and Sundowns 17. The only game to end goalless was the first game of their 1992 Semi-final showdown.
Of their previous eight ties in the MTN 8 only once has there been the need for penalties to decide the winner, which was their 1993 semifinal replay. The game ended 1-1 and Pirates won the game 4-2 on spot kicks.
Of their 8 previous ties in the MTN 8 tournament, the round in which the teams have met the most in the semifinals they clashed in the last four in 1992, 1993, 1994, 2000-01 and 2011-12. While in 1990 and 1995 they came head- to- head in the quarterfinals and in 2007-08 it was in the final where they met.
Of the team’s previous five MTN 8 semi-finalmeetings Sundowns won in 1992 and 1994, while Pirates were victorious in 1993, 2000-01 and 2011-12.
HEAD-TO-HEAD (MTN 8 competition)
P W D L GF GA GD
Pirates 11 3 4 4 11 17 -6
Sundowns 11 4 4 3 17 11 6
*1993 semifinal replay decided on penalties recorded as a draw.
PSL ERA Cup MEETINGS
This is the first cup clash between the teams since Sundowns defeated Pirates 4-1 in the 2020-21 Nedbank Cup quarterfinals.
In the PSL Era since 1996-97 the teams have met a total of 16 times, Pirates have six wins in open play to Sundowns five wins in open play. The Brazilians have also won one game on penalties, meaning that the remaining four games have been out right draws.
The teams have met in two- legged cup games in the PSL era three times previously in the 1997-98 Rothmans Cup semifinals the first leg with Pirates as hosts ended 2-2, while the second with Sundowns as hosts ended 0-0. Sundowns progressed to the final on away goals.
In the 1999-00 Rothmans Cup semifinals Pirates won the away first leg 1-0 but lost the return second leg 3-1 to Sundowns at home and were eliminated 3-2 on aggregate. Their last meeting over two legs was in the 2011-12 MTN 8 semifinals where Pirates won the first leg at home 3-2 and the second with Sundowns as hosts ended 1-1, Pirates progressed 4-3 on aggregate.
When the teams have previously met in two- legged cup ties in the PSL Era, Sundowns have progressed on two occasions in the 1997-98 and 1999-00 Rothmans Cup semifinals while Pirates have managed to do so in the 2011-12 MTN 8 semifinals.
The teams also met over two legs in the 1997-98 BOB Save Super Bowl Final, but the second was a replay after the first ended 1-1. The second also finished 1-1 with Sundowns winning on penalties 6-5 to complete a league and Cup double in 1997-98. That 1997-98 BOB Save Super Bowl tie is the only time since 1996-97 that a cup game between the teams has gone to a penalty shoot-out.
Other PSL Era Cup meetings between the teams saw Pirates defeat Sundowns in the 2000-01 BP Top 8 semifinals 2-1, as well as a 2010-11 Nedbank Cup last 32 encounter 1-0. Pirates also won two Nedbank Cup Quarterfinal games in 2013-14 and 2015-16 2-1 and 2-0 respectively they were the away team in both games.
Sundowns managed to win three cup games in a row against Pirates a 2004-05 Coca Cola Cup last 16 clash 3-1 as hosts, they also won the 2007-08 SAA Supa8 final against them and a 2009-10 Nedbank Cup Quarterfinal 3-1. Most recently Sundowns ended a five- game winless run- in cup games against Pirates (D1 L4) with a 4-1 home win over Pirates in the 2020-21 Nedbank Cup Quarterfinals.
Head- to -head PSL Era Cup Games:
P W D L GF GA GD PSO PSW PSL
Pirates 16 6 5 5 19 21 -2 1 0 1
Sundowns 16 5 5 6 21 19 2 1 1 0
*D includes 1997-98 BOB Save Super Bowl Final won by Sundowns on penalties.
ORLAND PIRATES
Pirates are 10 times winners of the MTN 8 tournament and have been runners up a further 6 times. Only Kaizer Chiefs with 15 wins and a further 6 runners up appearances have been to more finals (21) than Pirates (16).
Pirates last appearance in the final was in 2020-21 when they defeated Bloemfontein Celtic 2-1.
Pirates defeated Royal AM in the quarterfinals winning 2-1 away from home, on the 27th August.
In their quarterfinal clash against Royal AM, Pirates scored in the third minute through Vincent Pule, Vincent Monyane scored a second in the 58th minute. Despite Shaune Mogaila scoring in the 55th minute, Pirates held onto win the game.
Since the competitions introduction in the PSL Era in 2000-01 Pirates are appearing in the semifinals for a 12th time, their record including wins and losses on penalties as well as away goals reads W7 L5.
Pirates have won their last three MTN 8 semifinals in 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2020-21.
Pirates have lost one of their last seven MTN8 semifinal ties, they won three last four encounters in 2007-08, 2010-11, 2011-12 and then lost in 2012-13. Before winning on the last three occasions that they have made it to the last four.
Since the competition introduced a two -legged semifinal in 2008-09 this will be their seventh two- legged semifinal, of the previous six two legged last four encounters that they have participated in. Pirates have won five of these in 2010-11, 2011-12, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2020-21, losing only in 2012-13 to SuperSport.
In the first leg of the MTN 8 semifinals since 2008-09, Pirates drew the home first leg 1-1 and won the away second leg 1-0. They won the tie 2-1 on aggregate.
In the 2011-12 last four Orlando Pirates won the home first leg 3-2 before drawing the away second leg 1-1, taking the tie 4-3 on aggregate.
Against SuperSport United in 2012-13 Pirates began with a 0-0 away first leg draw and then lost 3-0 at home in the second leg.
Pirates again met Chiefs in the last four this time in 2013-14 winning 1-0 away from home in the first leg, despite a 1-1 draw in the second at home they move on taking the tie 2-1 on aggregate.
In 2014-15 a 2-0 away first leg win against Wits saw Pirates win the second leg 3-1 at home for a 5-1 aggregate victory.
While in 2020-21 they won the first leg at home 3-0 against their rivals Kaizer Chiefs, they followed it up with a 2-0 away second leg win for a 5-0 aggregate win.
When Pirates have played the first leg of a two- legged MTN 8 semifinal tie at home they have managed to progress to the final on all three occasions in 2010-11 despite drawing the first leg at home against Chiefs they still progressed. While in 2011-12 they defeated Sundowns 3-2 at home and in 2020-21 it was a 3-0 win over Kaizer Chiefs in the home first leg.
Pirates in six home legs of a two- legged MTN 8 semifinal tie have lost just once to SuperSport United, suffering a 3-0 reverse in the second leg in 2012-13. While they have drawn the home leg of their semifinal twice in 2010-11 and 2013-14 both against Chiefs, they have won the home leg of their semifinal three times in 2011-12 against Sundowns, 2014-15 against Wits and 2020-21 against Chiefs.