Orlando Pirates tightened their grip at the top of the Betway Premiership standings with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Polokwane City at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Pirates dominated large spells of the encounter but were frustrated in the first half by City goalkeeper Lindokuhle Mathebula, who produced key saves to keep the scores level at the break.
The breakthrough arrived in the 53rd minute when Relebohile Mofokeng headed home after Mathebula had parried successive efforts from Andre De Jong and Oswin Appollis. Despite their control, Pirates were pegged back late on as Bonginkosi Dlamini equalised with four minutes remaining.
However, the Buccaneers showed composure in the dying moments. Deon Hotto delivered a cross from the left and substitute Patrick Maswanganyi calmly guided the ball home to seal a dramatic winner and hand City their first home defeat of the season.
The result sees Pirates remain top of the table after 19 matches with 14 wins, two draws and three defeats, sitting on 44 points with a superior goal difference of 23+, just one goal ahead of their closest challengers.
Speaking after the game, Polokwane City head coach Phuti Mohafe said the defeat was difficult to accept.
“It’s a difficult defeat to accept, but you check on how the players played, they gave a good account of themselves,” he said.
“It was a first loss at home, and it is difficult to accept. But we were playing one of the big teams in Africa. A team that is free scoring and a team that is not conceding many goals. So scoring against them for us was a plus because we saw that there are certain things that they are not good at. It’s not a good defeat because a good reflection of the match would have been a draw.” he added
Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou, while satisfied with the three points, expressed concerns about the playing surface.
“It’s a bit disappointing not to play in a fantastic stadium next to that one because the PSL is the best league in Africa and I think, when we play such a professional game, we need to put the players in the right condition,” he said.
“The pitch didn’t allow us to play properly, we could have some injuries as well and I think it’s not good for the football, it’s not good for the fans as well because the fans want to see nice football. Today the pitch didn’t allow us to play good, nice football.” he added
Meanwhile, Mamelodi Sundowns ensured the title race remains finely balanced with a 2-1 victory over Golden Arrows at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium.
Sundowns moved to 44 points from 19 matches, recording 13 wins, five draws and one defeat with a goal difference of +22, leaving them separated from Pirates at the summit by the slimmest of margins.
Teboho Mokoena opened the scoring in the first half before Iqraam Rayners doubled the lead shortly after the restart. Sundowns were reduced to 10 men following a straight red card for Jayden Adams, but they held firm after Junior Dion converted a late penalty for Arrows.
With both sides level on points and separated only by goal difference, the Betway Premiership title race is poised for a gripping run-in.
Image by: Mazilitha