Red-hot Orlando Pirates vaulted to number three on the Betway Premiership table after a hard-fought 2-0 victory over TS Galaxy at Orlando Stadium on Tuesday night.
Pirates are notching up the victories unnoticed, and as a result, they have been steadily climbing up the league table. After a rather poor start to the season, the Buccaneers are now sitting in third position with 15 points after seven rounds of matches. They have played three matches less than the log leaders, Mamelodi Sundowns and have two games in hand against second-placed Sekhukhune United.
Against Galaxy, they found opposition that matched them pound for pound from the first whistle until the very last second of the match. The late night in Soweto was worth every second and every cent for supporters of the two teams who arrived at the stadium in large numbers – they got full value for their money.
The scoreline was not a true reflection of the match, as Galaxy gave Bucs a headache and a major scare. Galaxy players were determined to ruin the party for the home fans and they did a good job in man-to-man marking, and also tracked the Bucs forwards cleverly.
But Bucs have a lot of quality and depth, and the likes of Relebohile Mofokeng, Deon Hotto, Kamogelo Sebelebele and Evidence Makgopa really came to the party in the first stanza. Even their substitution bench had superstars such as Oswin Appollis, Tshegofatso Mabasa and Sipho Mbule to mention but a few.
Makgopa opened the scoring late in the first half from the penalty spot after the muscular defender Mlungisi Mbunjana body-checked Masindi Nemtajela inside the 18-area. It was a questionable penalty that the Galaxy players and coaches are still crying about.
Late in the match, Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou made a clever tactical change when he replaced Makgopa and Sebelele with Mabasa and Appollis respectively. The two substitutes added more firepower for the Buccaneers, but they found the Galaxy rear guard in top form and difficult to break down.
However, Mabasa sealed the game when he made it 2-0 deep in injury time with his 50th goal in all competitions for Pirates. The goal sent the stadium into a state of razzmatazz and wild celebrations ensued. But even after the goal, Galaxy still pushed forward, and their striker drew a good diving save from Sipho Chaine when it seemed it was all over.
