Orlando Pirates have been knocked out of the Caf Champions League at the group stages after suffering a 2-1 loss against Horoya in Conakry on Saturday night.
The Buccaneers came into the encounter knowing that nothing other than a victory would secure their progression to the last eight.
Pirates may have strolled past Guinean side with a resounding 3-0 victory at the Orlando Stadium earlier on in the competition. This fixture, however, would be a different proposition with qualification on the line.
The home side were the ones who started quickly as their skipper Ocansey Mandela rattled Wayne Sandilands post with just a minute on the clock.
Pirates quickly found their feet and were shocked not to be awarded a penalty after Thamsanqa Gabuza was pushed ove while clear through on goal.
Pirates were enjoying the line share of the play and had a glorious chance to open the scoring after some intricate build-up play saw Innocent Maela released down the left flank, he perfectly picked out Luvuyo Memela who subsequently blazed his shot over the bar.
With 30 minutes gone Pirates were guilty of wasting yet another effort on goal as Augustine Mulenga slipped through Gabuza on goal, the forward though fluffed his lines when it looked easier to score.
0-0 at the break with the away side missing some great opportunities.
The home side came out with a renewed vigour in the second stanza and shocked the visitors by taking the lead with 56 minutes gone as Abdoulaye Camara hit a driving shot from the outside of the box which flew through the crowd and beat the unsighted Sandilands.
Pirates began to go in search of an equaliser and while they were dominating possession, they were finding it difficulty
Calamity though hit for Pirates in the 76th minute as Horoya doubled making the away sides chance of progressing a lot more difficult. The Horoya captain used his pace and power to brush off Alfred Ndengane before squeezing his shot beyond Sandilands from a tight angle.
Pirates finally got on the score sheet as Justin Shonga fired home in the 91st minute, but it proved too little to late as Pirates crash out at the group stages on their return to Africa’s premium cup competition.
Photo: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix
