CAFCL: VAR saves the day for Orlando Pirates in first leg home draw with Pyramids

An underwhelming day in the CAF Champions League semifinals for South Africa's top clubs concluded on Saturday as Orlando Pirates were held to a 0-0 first leg draw by Egypt's Pyramids FC in Johannesburg. Pirates were fortunate to escape without conceding an away goal after the Video Assistant Referee intervened twice to rule out apparent Pyramids goals.

Pirates failed to trouble a well organized Pyramids side at the FNB Stadium. It was a decent start for the hosts, who came closest to scoring in the 15th minute when a shot opportunity opened up for Patrick Maswanganyi, who beat Pyramids goalkeeper Ahmed El Shenawy but saw his strike hit the post and go wide.

It appeared that Pyramids had snatched a goal close to halftime when Fiston Mayele took advantage to fire in after intercepting a Pirates header. However, the Congolese striker was offsides when the initial ball was played that caused the errant header.

Pyramids gained confidence as the match wore on and were the better team. It appeared that the visitors scored on a header from a corner kick in the second half but the ball hit Sodiq Ougola's arm before going into the goal, which was caught by VAR upon review.

The two teams will meet again for the second leg next Friday at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo with a place in the final on the line.