Orlando Pirates were knocked out of the Telkom Knockout after suffering a 4-2 defeat on penalties at the hands of Polokwane City at the Orlando Stadium on Saturday, writes Dylan Appolis.

The Buccaneers made their way into the quarter-final after they handed Golden Arrows their first defeat of the season at the Princess Magogo Stadium in the previous round of the competition.

For their part, Rise and Shine had to beat Ajax Cape Town 4-3 on penalties at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium to advance to the next round.

Polokwane got off to a bright start and broke the deadlock as early as the second minute when Rodney Ramagalela set up Rendai Ndou, who headed the ball into an empty net to make it 1-0.

Pirates then equalised 10 minutes later as Ntsikelelo Nyauza unleashed a strike from 12 yards out, with Polokwane unable to clear the ball off the line.

Thamsanqa Gabuza should’ve handed his side the lead after 23 minutes after latching on to a cross from Thembinkosi Lorch, but the striker blazed his effort over the target.

The Buccaneers were awarded a penalty seven minutes later after George Chigova brought down Gabuza in the area. Mpho Makola stepped up to take the spot-kick, but Chigova redeemed himself when he produced a fine save to deny the midfielder.

Ndou then scored his second goal of the match in the 41st minute after he was played through on goal by Jabulani Maluleke.

Makola eventually found the back of the net on the stroke of half-time when he latched on to Gabuza’s cross to head the ball home.

Pirates captain Thabo Matlaba came close to putting his side ahead in added time, but the defender could only find the woodwork as the match went into the half-time interval locked at 2-2.

The home side thought they should’ve been awarded another penalty after Thembinkosi Lorch was brought down in the area, but the referee ignored the appeal.

Mark van Heerden had an opportunity to seal the win in the 77th minute, but the defenders curling free kick sailed over the target.

Polokwane nearly took the lead when Vusimuzi Mngomezulu found himself with space in the area, but the striker skied his effort over the target.

The scoreline remained 2-2 after 90 minutes of football as the match went on to extra time.

Rise and Shine had the chance to put the game to bed in extra time, but Bongile Booi failed to beat Wayne Sandilands in a one-on-one situation.

The scoreline still remained 2-2 after 120 minutes of play, forcing the match into a penalty shoot-out. However, Rise and Shine came out victorious after they beat Pirates 4-2 on penalties to advance to the semi-finals of the competition.

In other Telkom Knockout matches:

Bidvest Wits advanced to the next round of the competition after claiming a narrow 1-0 victory over Baroka at the Bidvest Stadium, courtesy of a goal by Amr Gamal.

Photo: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix