Pirates forced to walk plank

FREE State Stars defeated Orlando Pirates 3-2 in an entertaining Absa Premiership match at James Motlatsi Stadium on Saturday.

Goals inside the first half hour from Moeketsi Sekola, Paulus Masehe and Mohammed Anas saw Ea Lla Koto to a victory which pushes them into 13th place on 22 points.

The Buccaneers, who scored through an own goal and Tendai Ndoro, remain in 11th place on the log on 23 points.

Stars claimed the lead with a brilliantly-taken goal as early as the fourth minute when Nhlanhla Vilakazi picked out a great pass for Moeketsi Sekola, who controlled the long ball beautifully before firing past Benson Mhlongo to make it 1-0.

Nine minutes later, former Orlando Pirates player Paulus Masehe made it 2-0. The veteran Ea Lla Koto skipper scored with a glancing header from Sinethemba Jantjie’s free kick delivery to put the hosts in complete control.

Stars twice came close to claiming a third goal within the opening 20 minutes, as Anas poked a shot wide when he had only Mhlongo to beat, while Jantjie nearly scored a brilliant solo goal which bounced off the top of the crossbar.

Pirates got one back midway through the first half when Thembinkosi Lorch’s shot was deflected off a defender, cleared off the line by Rooi Mahamutsa, only for the ball to rebound again off the back of goalkeeper Thela Ngobeni and cross the line for an own goal.

But just when Bucs thought they were back in the game, Anas scored a magnificent goal with a shot from outside the box which nestled in the top corner, making it 3-1 to Ea Lla Koto in 29 minutes.

Pirates again fought back in the dying stages of the first half to make it 3-2 when Oupa Manyisa was brought down in the box by Makhehlene Makhaula, and Tendai Ndoro converted from the spot for his first goal this year.

The second half lacked the fluency of the first, but Stars should have extended their lead 20 minutes after the restart when they sprung the offside trap to hand Anas a tap-in from just a few yards out, but Mhlongo somehow smothered the ball with a brilliant low save.

Ea Lla Koto soon switched their approach to a more defensive mindset, with the introduction of Angelo Kerspuy in place of Anas with 12 minutes of regulation time remaining, demonstrating a determination to hang onto their lead. — Backpage