Cape Town City and Orlando Pirates played out to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the MTN8 semifinal at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town on Wednesday.  

The defending champions, Pirates opened the scoring early in the first half through Relebohile Mofokeng, while the hosts responded in the second stanza through Jaedin Rhodes.  

Ahead of the clash, City coach Eric Tinkler urged his side to play with bravery and avoid conceding goals. That message mattered little as the visiting Soweto Giants began the encounter brightly and opened the scoring as early as the 15th-minute courtesy of 19-year-old Mofokeng.  

Mofokeng, after receiving a near-perfect diagonal ball played from Patrick Maswanganyi managed to shrug off the Citizen’s captain, Thamsanqa Mkhize before squeezing the ball past Darren Keet for his side’s opening goal.  

However, the home side came alive after that goal and maintained the majority of the ball possession, despite the visitors turning the match into a midfield tussle. Tinkler’s side in the 20th minute had a golden opportunity to level matters after a sloppy pass at the back by Maswanganyi saw Prins Tjiueza on goal. His attempt, however, was saved by shot-stopper, Sipho Chaine before hitting the upright and going out for a corner.  

Pirates continued to frustrate the home side as they reverted to long-range efforts which were in vain. With a minute added after regular time, the home team was once again kept out by Chaine who made a spectacular save to keep out Rhodes, who by his standards should’ve converted for his side.  

At the halfway mark, the visitors led 1-0. The first 20 minutes of the second half was dominated by the Citizens as they put Pirates under pressure from the get-go. In search of a reply, they camped deep in the opposition’s half, forcing Jose Riveiro’s side to rely on the counterattack.  

They were duly rewarded at the hour mark when Rhodes, who had missed a golden opportunity later in the first half, found the back of the net with his shot deflecting off Deon Hotto before finding its way into the back of the net to level matters at 1-1 with half an hour to play. The match opened up, and Pirates made the first change, substituting goal scorer, Mofokeng for Makhehlene Makhaula, as they were overrun in the midfield.  

City made two of their changes, introducing youngsters Heaven Sereets, and Jody Lee Ahshene. Soon after, Pirates looked to fire against the run of play, and Hotto found himself in space testing Keet who calmly made the save on the right-hand post to keep his side in the game. 

The pace of the game kept on going but the spoils were shared in the match that was watched by 21045 in the cold front in Cape Town. It is all to play for in the second leg at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.