Winners & Losers: Carling Cup semi-finals

Orlando Pirates and Marumo Gallants will compete in the 2025 Carling Cup final after both teams progressed in their respective semi-finals over the weekend. Pirates edged out Richards Bay 1-0 in a close battle on Saturday afternoon, to reach their second final of the season (and third of the year). Then on Sunday, Marumo Gallants and Golden Arrows played a 2-2 thriller that went all the way to penalties. Gallants progressed to the end. Winners & Losers is a statistical review of the weekend action.

Orlando Pirates final pedigree

The Bucaneers may have opened the scoring in the first half but they showed a steely defensive resolve that has characterised their season in the second. Strong defences are a sure foundation for trophy hunting, especially in knockout competitions.

31 – Pirates have reached their 31st knockout Cup final in the PSL era, more than any other club.

Abseslam Ouaddou

If the mark of a side that believes in its new coach is to fight until the end in the big games, you cannot doubt Pirates this season. Any initial resistance to Ouaddou’s appointment must have been rooted in a strong emotional attachment to his predecessor, rather than a genuine concern about the Morocan’s capabilities.

2 – Ouaddou is the first Pirates coach to reach the final of both the MTN8 and League Cup (TKO/CKO) in the same season since Roger de Sa in 2013.

Tshepang Moremi

From a relatively unknown player at AmaZulu to one of their highest-performing players in the league and the top scorer at a big club. Moremi’s trajectory over the last few months has been astonishing.

8 – Moremi has scored 8 goals for Orlando Pirates, with two each coming from all competitions that he has played.

Marumo coach

Marumo have beaten league champions Sundowns, MTN8 finalists Stellenbosch and now eliminated Golden Arrows – a team they have never won against before. All this under the youngest manager in the league – Alexandre Lafitte.

28 – Lafitte will be the youngest coach in PSL history to oversee a League Cup final.

Ndabayithethwa Ndlondlo

Let go by Pirates at the end of last season, Ndlondlo seems to have found his feet again at Marumo Gallants. In four weeks, he gets a chance to face his former side and may have a point to prove.

Entertainment value

For all the negative stereotypes on low goalscoring that are affiliated with the PSL, the 2025 Carling Cup has been a breath of fresh air. The 2-2 draw between Marumo Gallants and Golden Arrows is a case in point, with four goals coming in a 17-minute 2nd half blitz.

40 – This is the first time in 12 years that 40 goals have been scored before the final of this tournament (41 goals in 2013).

Losers

Golden Arrows

There was a desperation for Golden Arrows to reach their first final in sixten years, in the hope that it would give Coach Manqoba Mngqithi an opportunity to win a competition he painfully lost last season. Even he bemoaned how his side failed to take advantage of the chances they created.

4 – Arrows have now failed to progress from each of their last four League Cup semi-finals – the joint-longest ever run at this stage of this competition (alongside Pirates and Santos).

Richards Bay

Pirates were always favourites to progress in this semi-final, but it’s worth noting how Richards Bay put on a brave battle here. If history is anything to go by, beating Bay in the semi-finals may be a good omen for Pirates.

3 – This is the third consecutive season in which Richards Bay are knocked out in the semi-finals, with their victor going on to lift the title each time.