Johannesburg - Orlando Pirates created some breathing space between them and their competitors for the second-place finish in the DStv Premiership after beating 2-1 Cape Town City at Orlando Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Pirates leapfrogged SuperSport United into the second spot on 46 points, two points ahead of Matsantsantsa a Pitori who dropped points earlier in the week.
Pirates will sit on the coveted second spot until the next round of league matches even if Kaizer Chiefs manage to beat Sekhukhune United on Sunday, as Amakhosi can only reach 44 points with a win.
The Citizens, who took an early lead, will be disappointed by this defeat as they are hoping for a late push for the CAF qualifying spots after an underwhelming start to the season.
Pirates and City might be based in different provinces, but they’ve produced some mouth-watering clashes whenever they’ve crossed paths over the years.
And with the small matter of finishing strong in the league key for both teams, this match was expected to keep the supporters who were spread across the lower stands on their feet.
After a relatively slow start to the game – as both sides adopted a cautious approach – the visitors drew the first blood courtesy of marksman Khanyisa Mayo.
Jaeden Rhodes unleashed a well-weighted pass from his own half which found Mayo, who then cut inside, mesmerising marker Sandile Mthethwa, before beating Sipho Chaine with a hard, low shot.
That goal stunned ‘the Ghost’ who lost their voices for a minute. But the team didn’t drop their heads as they continued to make inroads in City’s final third in search of an equaliser.
With Thembinkosi Lorch not part of today’s match-day squad, the attacking responsibilities rested on the shoulders of Monnapule Saleng, Pirates’ best player of the season, up front.
Saleng kept the Citizens’ defence busy with his pace and trickery in their search of an equaliser, but their first scoring chance in the first half fell to the path of Thabang Monare.
Amid a scramble inside the box, Monare unleashed a hard and low shot that found its way between the traffic inside the box and came off the upright, resulting in a Pirates corner.
That resultant corner-kick proved fruitful for the hosts as captain Innocent Maela set-up an unmarked Terrence Dzvukamanja who headed home with ease.
Pirates continued to exert the pressure from thereon and Mthethwa should have found his team’s second, but he put his glancing inches wide of the target.
With the two sides returning for the second half still level at 1-1, the hosts exerted most of the pressure as Saleng continued to be a nuisance for the visitors.
A moment of displeasure ensued from ‘the Ghost’ as they rolled out the substitution signs after substitute Fortune Makaringe wasted a clear scoring opportunity in front of goal immediately after coming on.
Kuthuza Mkhuthuzi! 👏
Monnapule Saleng scores his 🔟th goal in the #DStvPrem this season - one away from the leader Shalulile.
📺 Stream #DStvPrem live: https://t.co/Tg69y0EeUL pic.twitter.com/vL0VZXJlEM
Makaringe’s teammates did their best to calm down their supporters, while the sprinklers also burst into life midway the game to water the field that was roughed up by some tough tackles.
Those sprinklers, though, seem to have washed away Saleng’s two-game drought after the Bafana international found Pirates’ winner with a composed finish inside the box.
And that’s how things ended as the Sea Robbers sailed closer and closer to the coveted second-place finish which guarantees CAF Champions League football next season.
@Mihlalibaleka