The Best Of South Africa's Clasico
Kickoff|February 2020
Kaizer Chiefs versus Orlando Pirates is one of football’s great derby matches with a rich history, both good and bad, that has helped to create a sports event that is the biggest in South Africa. It is perhaps the only fixture that can bring the country to a stand-still and down the years there has been some epic fixtures. KICK OFF’s Mark Gleeson picks out 10 of the best.
The Best Of South Africa's Clasico

24 January 1970

Orlando Stadium, Rogue Beer Cup third place play-off

Kaizer Chiefs (2) 4(Pule Ntsoelengoe 2, Petros Nzimande, Jacob Masike) Orlando Pirates (2) 6(Percy Moloi, Petros Nzimande own goal, Remember Majoe 2, Bernard Hartze 2)

The first ever meeting between Chiefs and Pirates took place in a year in which there was no structured league but rather several smaller one-off competitions.

The two sides met at the Orlando Stadium in the third place play-off of an eight-team tournament sponsored by South African Breweries with total prize money of R1,000.

How ironic that the Chiefs-Pirates encounter was actually a curtain raiser to the final later in the day which saw Moroka Swallows beat Pimville United Brothers 4-3. Chiefs had lost to PUBS in the semifinals and Pirates to Swallows.

For the bronze medal game, Chiefs brought back Thomas ‘Zero’ Johnson, then playing and coaching in Botswana, but could not halt the Pirates tide, led by ‘Chippa’Moloi, who got the first goal.

Chiefs’ Petros ‘Ten-Ten’Nzimande then calamitously scored the second for Pirates with an own goal off his head but Chiefs fought back through the guile of Pule ‘Ace’Ntsoelengoe, who scored two to level matter by half-time.

Then Chiefs went ahead after the break through Nzimande, atoning for his earlier error. But Moloi won the duel of skills with Kaizer Motaung in the second half and Bucs got the upper hand.

Remember Majoe made it 3-3 and then Bernard ‘Dancing Shoes’Hartze put Pirates back in the lead. Majoe got his second of the game and Pirates were further ahead, 5-3.

Jacob Masike beat Pirates goalkeeper Gerard van der Haer to bring it back to 5-4 in the closing stages but Pirates’Hartze made sure of the 6-4 win with a late goal.

24 April 1971

Orlando Stadium, League

This story is from the February 2020 edition of Kickoff.

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This story is from the February 2020 edition of Kickoff.

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