Derby goals galore
The victory gives Pirates some reprieve, as it temporarily moved them to second spot on the log
Orlando Pirates (1) 3
Kaizer Chiefs (2) 2
Pirates: Scorers: Monnapule Saleng (24m, 67m), Thabiso Lebitso (57m)
Chiefs: Scorers: Ashley du Preez (6m, 43m)
● So opportune was this Soweto derby that even President Cyril Ramaphosa couldn’t resist stealing time from his busy schedule to join close to 100,000 football fans who witnessed this five-goal thriller which saw Orlando Pirates complete a rare double over their rivals Kaizer Chiefs.
Chiefs striker Ashley du Preez and his Orlando Pirates counterpart Monnapule Saleng scored a brace each — goals that took the shine off the president’s presence at the stadium.
For Ramaphosa, this was the perfect moment to show his face and pretend he follows these Soweto giants. In response, the rivals did their best not to embarrass South Africa’s No 1 citizen as they scored three goals in the first half of this DStv Premiership clash before adding two in the final stanza.
Pity that Pirates, the winners, may not come close to finding a spot in next season’s Caf Champions League if they return to their inconsistent ways. Pirates came to this match having collected just five points from their last five, while Chiefs were in a better run, as they had fetched nine points from a possible 15 in their last five games.
Yesterday’s game started slowly but Chiefs managed to take one of their first chances when two-goal hero Du Preez was put through by Mduduzi Mdantsane, and he duly punished Pirates in the 6th minute.
Chiefs struggled to control the match after taking the lead as Pirates, spearheaded by man of the match Patrick Maswanganyi, began to find holes in their defence. It was Maswanganyi who played a huge role in Pirates’ equaliser in the 24th minute, stealing Yusuf Maart’s poor pass to defender Zitha Kwinika and feeding the ball to Saleng, who cut inside before unleashing a low, powerful shot to beat Bruce Bvuma in Chiefs’ goal.
Pirates were guilty of yet again losing concentration after cancelling Chiefs’ lead, and their defence was found wanting when Pule Mmodi managed to find Du Preez with a good pass, and the Chiefs striker completed his brace two minutes before the interval.
Both coaches made a couple of surprise changes in their starting XI. But it was Pirates’ Jose Riveiro whose decision to give new signing Thabiso Lebitso his first taste of this derby that seemed to backfire within the first 10 minutes.
The former Chippa United player was caught napping with Du Preez’s first goal. Lebitso, however, did well to redeem himself when his thunderbolt, taken just outside the area, gave the Buccaneers a deserved equaliser after they started the second half better than Chiefs.
Mdantsane was a surprise inclusion in Cavin Johnson’s starting team, and he repaid his coach with a delightful assist in Du Preez’s opener. But Mdantsane disappeared after this effort, part of the reason Pirates gained control of the match in the second half.
Saleng, another surprise starter in Riveiro’s line-up, completed his brace when he again linked up with Maswanganyi before looping the Pirates’ winner over the advancing Bvuma in the 77th minute.
The teams came to this match separated by one point but their win gives Pirates a reprieve as it temporarily moved them to second spot with 33 points from 20 matches. Chiefs’ supporters seemed to spoil the party in the closing stages of the game as they pelted their bench with a few missiles on realising that their club’s chances to at least finish second might have all but gone with this defeat.
This result gives Stellenbosch FC, Cape Town City and SuperSport United a challenge to win their weekend matches if they want to remain with a chance to continue fighting for the second Champions League spot behind runaway log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns — the team galloping to a record seventh straight league title.
That Chiefs have Stellies, City, SuperSport and Sundowns in their remaining fixtures will make their fight for second or third spot tougher. Pirates too have SuperSport and City in their remaining fixtures, and only victories in those matches, and the other eight, will see them finish second behind Sundowns, as they did last season.