Orlando Pirates have beaten Stellenbosch in the MTN8 final and claimed an unprecedented treble in the competition.
Orlando Pirates come from behind to win MTN8 final thriller
Lehlohonolo Mejola scored a stunner in the 12th minute to put a cat among the pigeons for Stellenbosch, but Pirates hit back through big-game player Monnapule Saleng on 43 minutes. Super sub Tshegofatso Mabasa put Pirates in front on 91 minutes and Relebohile Mofokeng put the icing on the cake in the sixth minute of time added on for stoppages. 3-1 to Pirates is how it ended at Moses Mabhida.
Prize money goes up
- The Buccaneers have now won a treble of MTN8 titles and their 13th overall.
- Stellies have never lifted the trophy.
- The prize fund for this year’s tournament has been hiked to R17 million in total.
- Pirates walk away with a R10 million cheque, while Stellies – along with the other six sides to have competed – will earn R1 million.
- The other six teams who were eliminated in the earlier rounds were SuperSport United, TS Galaxy, Sekhukhune United, Cape Town City FC, Polokwane City and Mamelodi Sundowns.
Updated MTN8 history
- The MTN8 – as we know the cup competition today – was first contested back in 1972.
- It features the top eight finishers from the previous season’s Betway Premiership with the champions facing the eighth-placed team, the runners-up taking on the seventh-placed side – and so on.
- While the quarter-finals are one-off matches, the semi-finals are played over two legs.
- Cellular giants MTN have sponsored the event since 2008.
- Prior to that (from 1972 to 2002) it was known as BP Top Eight Cup (sponsored by BP) and the SAA Super Eight Cup from 2003 to 2007 (sponsored by South African Airways).
- This year’s tournament was the 50th edition.
- So who has tasted the most success the previous 49 times the competition was held?
- No surprise to learn that Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs lead the way with 15 titles, followed by their bitter rivals Orlando Pirates with 13.
What are your thoughts on the MTN8 final?
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