Pirates, coached by Dutchman Ruud Krol at the time, were desperate for success and they got off to a flyer when Daine Klate scored from the penalty spot to give the Buccaneers a lead at half time.
However four minutes from time, when Pirates were licking their lips at the thought of lifting the trophy at the end of regulation time, Dube Birds midfielder Morgan Shivambu scored an equaliser with his head to take the game into extra time.
The sides could not be separated after 30 minutes of extra time, so the game had to be decided in the dreaded penalty shoot.
The usually trustworthy Siyabonga Nomvethe and Brian Mashishi failed to convert from the spot kick for Swallows, while Klate, Katlego Mashego, Isaac Chansa and Lucky Lekgwathi made no mistake with their penalties for the Buccaneers.
By winning the title, Pirates ended a seven-year trophy drought. It was the beginning of arguably the most successful period for the Buccaneers as they went on to win back-to-back domestic trebles.
“Winning a trophy after a long drought and scoring the winning penalty in the final will always be in my memory. We were not winning any trophies. But after that cup final it brought back the luck to the team and we went on to win trebles.”
Lekgwathi says they were well prepared for the penalty shootout and they knew that they would win.
"We were working on penalties leading up to the final. We just told Moeneeb [Josephs] that ‘if you save one, then we will make sure that we score’. All our guys scored their penalties," he says.