Johannesburg — Orlando Pirates are fully recharged and eagerly waiting for rivals Kaizer Chiefs in the Soweto derby next week after beating Maritzburg United 2-1 on Friday night.
Pirates, without coach Jose Riveiro, bagged this win to climb up to third in the DStv Premiership, where they trail second placed SuperSport United by a point.
The third spot is not the ultimate dreamland for the Buccaneers, who were in control for the better part of the game with a 2-0 lead, before Tumelo Njoti pulled one back for the visitors later on.
Pirates are gunning for a top two finish, which guarantees Caf Champions League football next season — something that they could edge closer towards if they beat Chiefs next week.
With the league nearing its twilight, three points were key for both sides as Pirates wanted to close in at the top, while Maritzburg wanted to avoid relegation.
This contest meant a lot to the hosts, Pirates, as they were preparing for their Soweto derby clash against rivals Chiefs at FNB Stadium next Saturday.
That meant they had to dig deep and prove to missing coach Jose Riveiro who served his first game of two bans with this game that they can win without him.
The Spaniard’s absence from Pirates’ dugout saw his assistants Mandla Ncikazi and Sergio Almenara bark instructions from the side-lines tonight.
For Ncikazi, this game meant a lot to him as he came up against his former employers, who are coached by Fadlu Davids who worked with him here last season.
Davids looked the part for his homecoming, wearing a black and white suit — that could have been misinterpreted for a pledge of being “Once and Always A Buccaneer!”
The two dugouts needed their players to fight their respective battles though. But all eyes were on Thembinkosi Lorch who made his first start since returning from an injury.
With just his first touch of the ball, Lorch sent the home crowd into a frenzy — a befitting return for the latest man to be crowned the PSL Footballer of the Season at this club.
The return of Lorch revived Pirates. They played with fluidity in the engine as they looked to exploit the pockets using Phillip Ndlondlo in the channels.
Without a proper No 9, given that Terrence Dzvukamanja is a ball player, Pirates spent most of the time rotating the ball, without the required penetration though.
But like he’s been doing this season, Monnapule Saleng became the hero deep in stoppage time of the first half, beating goalkeeper Renaldo Learner with a hard and low curling effort.
Maritzburg started the second half with vigour. But Pirates extinguished that fire as they doubled the lead to all but crawl closer to the three points.
Saleng unleashed a curling free-kick that found an unmarked Terrence Dzvukamanja who slotted home with a diving header, sending the stadium into a huge frenzy.
That goal saw the Ghost restore their faith in the Zimbabwean as they gave him a standing ovation during his substitution after booing him last month.
In the later stages of the game, Pirates had marched closer to the victory that they handed striker Souaibou Marou his debut since arriving late last year.
The Cameroonian didn’t impact the game, though, as Njoti pulled one back later in the game, but that didn’t stop Pirates from moving to third ahead of the derby.
IOL Sport