Kaizer Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates all picked up home wins in the Carling Knockout on Tuesday evening -- with Chiefs beating TS Galaxy 3-0, Pirates triumphing 3-0 against Milford and Sundowns edging Marumo Gallants 1-0.
Orlando Pirates scored all three of their goals in the first half, with one from Thapelo Mokobodi followed by two from Tshepang Moremi. The last of the three was set up by Mpho Padime, who replaced Gamphani Lungu in the first half. This may have been a precautionary measure to avoid an aggravation of a prior injury, but could conceivably have been a tactical switch too.
Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou is known for his high standards, and with Saturday's Premiership Soweto derby against Kaizer Chiefs looming at FNB Stadium, he insisted after the final whistle that higher standards were needed needed despite Tuesday's scoreline.
"I was not happy about how we played. We didn't have control... A lot of players were selfish. Instead of giving the ball to their teammates to score when they were not in bad positions, they shot," Ouaddou told SuperSport after the game.
"The positives are three goals and a clean sheet, but we want to dream bigger. To dream bigger is to win the [Premiership] and the Champions League. I think if we play like this, we are going to win nothing... I think there are a lot of players who need to wake up."
Chiefs went into half-time level at 0-0 with TS Galaxy after Pule Mmodi had a 28th minute penalty shout denied. However, Wandile Duba's second-half hat-trick wrapped up progression to the quarter-finals for Fernando da Cruz's side.
Sundowns edged Marumo Gallants at Loftus Versfeld, with Siyanda Ndlovu getting the only goal of the game 20 minutes in -- teed up by Iqraam Rayners.
Seven of the eight last 16 ties in South Africa's League Cup have now been played, with only Durban City vs. Stellenbosch remaining on Wednesday. The tournament features all 16 Premiership teams in the first round. All ties are decided over a single leg which could feature extra time and penalties in case of a draw.
- Carling Knockout last 16 fixtures, kick-off times, how to watch
Round of 16 results to date:
- Golden Arrows 4-0 Chippa United
- Polokwane City 0 (3) - (4) 0 Siwelele
- Kruger United 0-1 AmaZulu
- Sekhukhune United 3-1 Richards Bay
- Orlando Pirates 3-0 Milford
- Kaizer Chiefs 3-0 TS Galaxy
- Mamelodi Sundowns 1-0 Marumo Gallants