Morrison starts season off with a 1-0 bang for his Bucs

BERNARD Morrison marked his first league start for Orlando Pirates in almost a year with his first goal for the club last night.

The Buccaneers won a second game of the new league season by beating Ajax CT 1-0, increasing their haul of points to seven out of a possible nine. Ajax are winless in three games and are second from bottom of the log with just one point.

Thamsanqa Gabuza applied an all-important flick onto a long throw-in to find Morrison unmarked at the back post where he was able to steer it home despite the efforts of Ajax goalkeeper Brandon Petersen.

The goal came as early as the ninth minute of a match that reflected a lack of match fitness in both camps.

Ghana-born Morrison had been sparingly used last season by the Buccaneers. He made three starts at the beginning of the season – the last on September 27 last year against Platinum Stars – but then a combination of a loss of form and injury kept him out until last night.

Pirates profited from poor marking and the early goal allowed much-needed confidence in a strangely shaped team, with Thabo Matlaba floating around the midfield and Mpho Makola much more central than usual.

Ajax might have had an equaliser within two minutes when Thabo Mosadi picked up an errant ball and launched a counterattack but he shot wide of Wayne Sandilands’ goal.

After that Pirates dominated possession. Gabuza should have made it 2-0 in the 27th minute but his effort was blocked.

There was a sharp break with four Pirates players lining up in a row to score with Qalinge having the final shot, only to be parried away by Petersen.

Musa Nyatama missed a sitter as Pirates again squandered the opportunity for an insurance goal and they almost paid the price in the last minutes when Tashreeq Morris could have scored twice.

Sandilands made his only save of the game to deny Morris, who then had a sitter but blasted over the top with his left foot in stoppage time.

● Other PSL Results: Polokwane City 1 Bloemfontein Celtic 2; and AmaZulu 1 Maritzburg United 1.