Relebohile Mofokeng Fires Orlando Pirates to Carling Knockout Cup Victory
- Relebohile Mofokeng was the saviour for Orlando Pirates as they won the Carling Knockout Cup title this season
- The Bafana Bafana star ended the Soweto giants' 14-year wait to win the competition after they defeated Marumo Gallants in the final
- This is the second time the Sea Robbers have won a domestic trophy under their new manager, Abdeslam Ouaddou, this season
Orlando Pirates have continued their dominance in domestic competitions by defeating Marumo Gallants 1–0 in the final to win the 2025–26 Carling Knockout Cup.
Source: Getty Images
Bafana Bafana star Relebohile Mofokeng scored the only goal of the match in extra time after the normal regulation time ended goalless at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium.
Abdeslam Ouaddou, who was named Pirates head coach at the start of the 2025–26 season, has now won his second trophy as Buccaneers coach after leading the Sea Robbers to victory in the MTN8 competition in September.
This is also the second time the Bucs have won the Carling Knockout Cup, after their first success in the competition came in 2011, when they defeated the now-defunct Bidvest Wits at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.
Mofokeng fires Pirates to Carling Knockout glory
Ouaddou shuffled the team that had won against Durban City in the Betway Premiership for the game, introducing Oswin Appollis, Lebone Seema, and Makhehlene Makhaula into the starting XI, while South African internationals Nkosinathi Sibisi, Patrick Maswanganyi, and Tshepang Moremi made way.
Marumo Gallants responded with their own trio of alterations, restoring Washington Arubi, Mpho Chabatsane, and Christopher Sithole to the line-up at the expense of Kagisho Mlambo, Lebohang Mabotja, and Daniel Msendami.
Gallants were close to going down by a goal very early in the game as Arubi made a mistake while controlling the ball, giving Pirates possession in the area, but Evidence Makgopa failed to capitalise on the chance as Marvin Sikhosana cleared his attempt off the line in the second minute.
After that incident, neither side created many chances in the first half, with both teams still trying to get into their stride and fully settle into the contest. As the game went on, Pirates dominated the ball as expected and looked dangerous whenever they pushed beyond the halfway line, consistently testing Arubi’s goal.
The first 45 minutes ended goalless, with Pirates being the better side and the team that came closest to scoring.
Source: Getty Images
Early in the second half, the two teams exchanged brief spells of control in the middle of the park as they tried to find a breakthrough. Pirates continued to push forward and carved out multiple openings, but for a while, Gallants managed to clear every threat that came their way.
Gallants, meanwhile, spent much of the period on the back foot, making occasional attempts to push ahead but never really troubling the opposition in the final third. With neither side able to break the deadlock after 90 minutes, the game moved into extra time still scoreless.
Just moments before the end of the first period of extra time, Mofokeng struck the opener, handing the Soweto giants the deserved advantage.
With Gallants unable to produce a response, the Sea Robbers held firm and secured the title, their second domestic cup triumph this campaign.
Pirates sign new player from PSL rivals
Briefly News also reported that Orlando Pirates have signed a new player ahead of the January transfer window from their PSL rivals.
The Soweto-based club have reportedly been chasing the player since the summer, before reaching an agreement with his club this December.
Source: Briefly News
