Orlando Pirates strengthened their position at the top of the Betway Premiership standings after securing a 2-0 victory over Sekhukhune United at the Orlando Amstel Arena on Tuesday night.
The victory extended the reigning champions’ unbeaten start to the 2026/27 campaign, while also securing their second home league win and third clean sheet of the season.
The result also provided Head Coach Abdeslam Ouaddou with a winning way to mark his 50th match in charge of the Buccaneers.
Boitumelo Radiopane opened the scoring in the 36th minute, calmly finishing from a tight angle after being played through by Kamogelo Sebelebele.
Radiopane had earlier gone close when his left-footed effort from the edge of the area struck the woodwork, but he eventually found the breakthrough to reward Pirates’ pressure.
Sekhukhune responded strongly after falling behind and came close to an equaliser before halftime. Bradley Mojela headed wide from inside the box, while another opportunity just before the break also went begging.
The visitors continued to threaten after the restart, with Mokibelo Ramabu heading narrowly wide in the 55th minute after being picked out by D’Angelo Kazeem.
Pirates, however, remained clinical when their opportunities arrived and doubled their advantage shortly after the hour mark.
Radiopane broke through the Sekhukhune defence before taking the goalkeeper out of the equation and squaring the ball for Oswin Appollis, who calmly finished to make it 2-0.
The goal came on Appollis’ birthday, adding another positive moment to what was already a memorable night for the Pirates winger.
Sekhukhune continued to search for a way back into the match, but Pirates defended resolutely during the closing stages. Sipho Chaine made an important close-range save from Tshepo Mokoena in stoppage time before comfortably gathering D’Angelo Kazeem’s effort from outside the box to preserve the clean sheet.
Despite the comfortable scoreline, Ouaddou admitted after the match that Pirates had not produced their best performance and felt Sekhukhune were the better side on the night.
I’m happy for the boys, I’m happy for myself and for the fans. But we don’t deserve to win today,” Ouaddou said.
The Pirates coach praised Sekhukhune’s approach and acknowledged that the visitors had performed considerably better than his side.
I want to congratulate the Sekhukhune players and the way that they started that game. Today they were far, far better than us,” he added.
Ouaddou’s comments come with the two sides preparing to meet for the third consecutive time in the space of seven days.
Pirates currently hold a 1-0 advantage in their MTN8 semi-final tie after beating Sekhukhune in the first leg in Polokwane last Saturday.
The decisive second leg will take place at the Orlando Amstel Arena this coming Saturday, with a place in the MTN8 final at stake.
While Tuesday’s league victory gives Pirates further momentum, Ouaddou knows his side will have to improve significantly if they are to secure their place in the final.
I know that it will not be easy. It will not be easy to qualify for the final. If we don’t find a solution in three days, it can be very, very difficult,” he warned.
The coach and his technical team will now turn their attention to analysing Tuesday’s performance, identifying the areas that need improvement and preparing for another demanding encounter against a Sekhukhune side that has already demonstrated its ability to trouble the Buccaneers.
We will go to rest, watch the game, make the post-analysis with the players, find where we could have done better and where we missed it, and come back stronger,” Ouaddou said.
The three points keep Pirates firmly at the top of the Betway Premiership, but the focus now quickly shifts to Saturday, when their unbeaten run and league momentum will take a back seat as they look to defend their narrow MTN8 advantage and book their place in the final.