Orlando Pirates secured a 1-0 win over AmaZulu as they claimed the bragging rights in round number two on Saturday evening. Pirates scored through Tshegofatso Mabasa to secure the full three points in their DStv Premiership clash at Orlando Stadium. Fresh from a 4-2 victory over Usuthu in the Nedbank Cup last weekend, Pirates now move up a spot up the standings to third place with 40 points.
The Soweto giants also saw their hopes of returning to the CAF Champions League getting a massive boost in front of their home crowds.
Pirates Review: The Soweto Giants Beat Usuthu
After engaging in a thrilling cup encounter that produced six goals at Moses Mabhida, the league clash in Soweto began in a subdued fashion as each side produced a solitary shot at goal to show inside the opening 20 minutes.
It was the hosts who took the game to Usuthu when Patrick Maswanganyi was the first to fire goalward in the fourth minute, finding keeper Veli Mothwa’s gloves with a miscued attempt after making a threatening run into the penalty area.
In their response, the KZN outfit had a chance five minutes later when Victor Letsoalo deflected an excellent ball from Abbubaker Mobara towards the Pirates goal, with the upright coming to the hosts’ rescue.
Kabelo Dlamini took the resultant free kick and sent his shot drifting wide of the target, and that turned out to be Pirates’ last opportunity for the best part of the first period as the visitors closed shop at the back.
In search of an opener, coach Jose Riveiro made changes and the introduction of fresh legs in the form of Thalente Mbatha, Ndabayithethwa Ndlondlo, and Monnapule Saleng injected some energy into the hosts’ attack as they continued their search for the opener.
They eventually found the breakthrough in the 75th minute when Maswanganyi released Saleng out wide with the replacement attacker delivering an excellent ball into the middle for Mabasa, who only needed a single touch to make it 1-0.
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The visitors, guided by Pablo Franco failed to find the back of the net as they returned home without a point to show for their efforts, they remain at number 13 on the log.
Pirates Coach Reacts to Win Over 10-Man Usuthu
In his reaction after the 1-0 win, Riveiro said it is important for the Buccaneers to continue their winning momentum if they are to reach their target of finishing second in the league and qualify for next season’s Champions League.
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The Buccaneers have collected seven points in their last three games and scored nine goals in the process. “We need to win week in and week out, we really need to do it the way we would like to do it and play the way would like to play the game and everything else is a consequence,” said Riveiro.
“We don’t play for the result, the result is a consequence of doing things better than the opponents and recently we managed to do it in most minutes of the game and in most phases of the game and that’s why we’re getting the results. We just want to do it our way and right now we’re getting closer to being the team we want to be in the next month, in the future, next season, but there’s still room for improvement and we’re taking it game by game.”
“It was a highly complicated game as expected because we just played a week ago so we know each other well. It was like a second leg and both teams approached the match in that manner. It was very tactical in the beginning, it was a 50-50 game in terms of control, the time it was eleven versus eleven. Our opponents were slightly better, slightly comfortable in the beginning (of the match, we didn’t start with the pace that we were looking for.”
Pirates vs AmaZulu What’s Next:
Taking a look at their upcoming encounter, Pirates will face off against Royal AM on Sunday afternoon while AmaZulu will meet Chippa United on Saturday afternoon at home.
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