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Outwitting Polokwane City 3-0 at Orlando Stadium on Tuesday, Orlando Pirates demonstrated why they’re tipped by many as one of the title candidates this season.
Polokwane goalkeeper Manuel Sapunga committed glaring errors that resulted in the second and third goals. Powered by thousands of their vibrant supporters, who may have sacrificed spending time with their loved ones on Heritage Day, Pirates dominated the game from start to finish.
Second-half substitute Evidence Makgopa bagged a brace, while Monnapule Saleng, was also on target for the hosts, netting for the third time on the trot.
Relebohile Mofokeng and Saleng were in the thick of things, combining brilliantly to unlock the Polokwane defence on several occasions but their final pass proved untidy in the first half. Rise and Shine hardly threatened the hosts as they looked content to sit back and absorb the pressure all game long.
The pressure Pirates mouthed produced several set-plays in dangerous areas but they couldn’t make good use of them in the end. Polokwane started to get a little bit physical after seeing that they were dominated as far as the ball possession was concerned.
What was also notable in the first half was that Pirates were patient in their build-ups, knocking the ball around to force the visitors to lose their defensive shape and at times Polokwane defenders, especially full-backs Thabang Matuludi and Tlou Nkwe were forced to defend too deep, abandoning their usual style of play of tucking inside.
This gave Pirates more freedom in the middle of the park, where Kabelo Dlamini and Thalente Mbatha dictated terms to make sure the hosts had full control of the game.
Pirates returned from the halftime hiatus even more determined, playing with a sense of urgency now, unlike the first half where they were patient in their build-ups. The Buccaneers’ persistence eventually paid off when Saleng beat Sampunga with a powerful shot from close range in the 55th minute after he was set up by Mofokeng.
Makgopa doubled Bucs’ lead in the 85th minute, pouncing on a rebound after Sapunga spilled Karim Kamvuidi’s shot in front of him. Sapunga should have parried the ball away instead of spilling it in Makgopa’s way.
Six minutes later, the Polokwane keeper was at fault again, failing to trap a back pass with Makgopa capitalising again to make it 3-0.
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