By 
By Orlando Pirates FC.
Orlando Pirates prevailed once more in the Betway Premiership, beating Sekhukhune United 2-1 at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Wednesday night. They bagged their second maximum-points haul in the space of days against the Limpopo outfit, who suffered only their second home defeat of the season.
It was second versus fourth in Polokwane, with the visitors looking for a win that would help them keep touching distance with the table-topping Mamelodi Sundowns ahead of Saturday’s top-of-the-table showdown. They were pitted against a Babina Noko outfit that had proven a difficult adversary on their home patch with just five league points dropped as hosts thus far.
One change was made from the Bucs side that triumphed in the Soweto Derby against Kaizer Chiefs, with Paseka Mako replacing Mohau Nkota. This pushed Deon Hotto up front, and the Namibian international was a factor from the jump.
He got on the scoresheet through a free kick five minutes from the first whistle, following a foul on Patrick Maswanganyi. Having to deliver from a tight angle, Hotto opted for the direct approach and was rewarded as he caught goalkeeper Ali Sangare off guard with his effort that snuck in on the near post to give the visitors an early lead.
Despite their early advantage, Pirates remained dominant throughout the early exchanges. The two centre-backs, Thabiso Sesane and Nkosinathi Sibisi each popped up in attacking positions and both went narrowly wide of goal with headers from set pieces.
It was also through dead-ball situations that the hosts found their initial opportunities at goal, but shots from Sipho Mbule and Ellis Rammala did not trouble Bucs keeper Sipho Chaine. They had some ground still to cover as the two sides headed into the tunnel, with Pirates maintaining a slim advantage as the whistle sounded.
Sekhukhune’s desperate pursuit for parity was complicated moments after the restart as Pirates pulled two goals clear. The second came off the head of Makhehleni Makhaula who sprung up to nod in from inside the box, making it 2-0 in the 47th minute.
Maswanganyi and Makgopa followed up with their shots, with the latter coming the closest to providing a third when he forced Sangare into a save 68 minutes in. Babina Noko rallied back soon after piling pressure on the visitors as they looked to remain in the contest.
They gave themselves every bit of an opportunity to salvage something from the contest, pulling one back through ex-Bucs midfielder Linda Mntambo who followed up his initial shot from range which hit the woodwork. Pirates’ failure to clear from that earlier attempt allowed him the opportunity to finish from close up and he duly obliged with a strike that set up a tricky finish.
The goal did not deter the Soweto Giants in their pursuit for their third goal of the night, which nearly came by through the boot of Relebohile Mofokeng. The youngster forced Sangare to his left in completing a crucial save in the final 10 minutes.
The Ivorian’s effort was matched by his opposite number moments later, with the Bucs shot-stopper pulling a reflex save to keep out an attempt for replacement striker Chibuike Ohizu late in the contest. The Nigerian forward had another go with the clock running out, but it was the South African international who came out top once more.
An elongated injury time presented a frantic finish, with Pirates holding firm amid a determined effort from the Limpopo outfit. There was no further change to the scoreline as the visitors made it two wins in as many league matches to keep the gap between themselves and Sundowns to six points ahead of Saturday’s highly-anticipated encounter at Loftus.
Pirates XI: Chaine, Sesane (Xoki 18’), Sibisi, Van Rooyen (Rasebotja 86’), Mako, Mbatha (Dlamini 86’), Makhaula, Maswanganyi, Hotto (Shandu 69’), Mofokeng, Mabasa (Makgopa 46’).
