Orlando Pirates continued their unbeaten start to the 2026/27 Betway Premiership campaign with a 2-0 victory over Durban City at the Orlando Amstel Arena on Thursday night.
The reigning champions endured a difficult first half before producing a much-improved performance after the break to secure their fourth consecutive victory and move within four points of leaders Mamelodi Sundowns.
Durban City started brightly and immediately put Pirates under pressure, forcing a quick reaction save from Sipho Chaine with their first attack. The visitors also won an early corner but failed to make the most of the opportunity as Pirates defended their goal.
Durban City’s game plan was built around pressing high and quickly exploiting the pace of Jean Lwamba, while using Gaston Sirino between the lines.
The approach unsettled Pirates, who struggled to string passes together and found it difficult to break down Durban City’s back five during the opening half.
Sirino came close in the 32nd minute after finding space on the left-hand side of the box following a swift attacking move, but Chaine was equal to his effort.
Durban City continued to look dangerous before the break and brought Chaine into action again shortly before half-time. Kyle Jurgens picked out Lwamba with an inch-perfect lifted through ball, but the Durban City attacker could not beat the Pirates goalkeeper.
Durban City head coach Ben Khalil Youssef believed his side had done enough to take a commanding lead into the interval.
I think the first half we deserve to finish three-nil,” said Youssef, who felt his team had missed three one-on-one opportunities.
Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou also acknowledged that his side had struggled to deal with the visitors’ tactical approach.
They came, they surprised us actually,” said Ouaddou. “They had some difficulties to break this back five and to find the space that we want in the first half.”
The Pirates coach conceded that Durban City deserved to be ahead, adding:
We were lucky to come back with 0-0 at half-time.”
Ouaddou’s half-time adjustments, however, transformed the hosts after the restart.
Pirates came out firing in the second half, with Kamogelo Sebelebele testing the Durban City goalkeeper with a right-footed effort at the near post within five minutes of the restart.
The Buccaneers eventually broke the deadlock in the 57th minute from a corner. The ball was swung into the box, where Lebone Seema rose highest and powered a header home from the edge of the six-yard area.
The goal gave Pirates greater control and they began finding the spaces that had been difficult to exploit in the first half.
They doubled their advantage in the 68th minute following another defence-splitting attacking move. Simphiwe Masielela found space on the edge of the 18-yard area before feeding Tshepang Moremi, who calmly slotted the ball home with a right-footed finish.
Ouaddou was delighted with the response from his players, describing the second-half display as the kind of football he wants his team to produce.
We totally see another face of Pirates and I was really, really happy about the football that our team showed in the second half,” he said.
“It’s the football that I like, it’s the football that we should play. It was really a model, a reference about how I see football.”
The second goal gave Pirates valuable breathing room, but Durban City continued to push during the closing stages.
Youssef felt the visitors’ ability to respond was affected by fatigue, particularly after a demanding schedule and with limited options to rotate his squad.
The same players that were playing 90 minutes last game and they play again 90 minutes. It was difficult for them to repeat physically,” he said.
Despite the defeat, Youssef remained pleased with the way his players executed the game plan, particularly before half-time.
I think the plan of the game, the first half, it was 100 percent succeed,” he said.
Pirates’ defensive wall stood firm in the final stages to preserve the clean sheet and secure maximum points.
For Ouaddou, the second-half performance provided an important benchmark for his team going forward.
So if we can really keep this second half as a reference, it will be very good for the future,” he said.
The victory extends Pirates’ winning streak to four matches and keeps them within four points of Sundowns at the top of the Betway Premiership standings.
Durban City will now look to bounce back quickly, with Youssef confirming that his side faces Milford in their next fixture in three days’ time.