Orlando Pirates and Al-Ittihad play to a dull draw!

Orlando Pirates and Al-Ittihad played to a dull 0-0 draw in their final Group B match of the CAF Confederation Cup on Sunday.

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The result, however, was enough for both teams to advance to the quarter-finals of this year’s competition.

Pirates finished top of Group B while Al-Ittihad finished second – and that meant the elimination of JS Saoura.

Bongani Sam made his first CAF Confederation Cup appearance while Ben Motshwari and Fortune Makaringe returned to the starting line-up.

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Pirates had a promising start to the encounter with the first goalscoring opportunity presented to Bandile Shandu early on.

However, the former Maritzburg United man failed to hit the target from a spill by Al-Ittihad goalkeeper Muad Allafi.

Kabelo Dlamini then came close to firing Pirates ahead towards the end of the first half but his left-footed attempt went inches wide.

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Dlamini then stormed into the Al-Ittihad box before playing cross that found Makaringe unmarked but the latter squandered the chance.

Al-Ittihad tried to play football in the second half as Mohammad Zubya came close to scoring barely three minutes into the half.

At times, it was evident that Al-Ittihad came to South Africa for a point as they went into a defensive mode again after that attempt by Zubya.

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Pirates struggled to break their defence even after introducing the likes of Thembinkosi Lorch and Gabadinho Mhango midway through the second half.

Ultimately, both Pirates and Al-Ittihad settled for a share of the spoils and the visitors were more than happy with the result.

HOW ORLANDO PIRATES LINED UP AGAINST AL-ITTIHAD

Pirates: Ofori, Jele, Nyauza, Mabaso, Sam, Motshwari, Makaringe, Shandu, Mako, Dlamini, Peprah

Subs: Mpontshane, Maela, Jooste, Hlatshwayo, Makgaka, Mabasa, Ndlovu, Mhango, Lorch