Makusu breaks his duck as Pirates rout Jwaneng in Botswana

It’s advantage for Orlando Pirates after the Buccaneers sailed past Jwaneng Galaxy with a convincing victory in the first leg of the playoffs of Caf Confederation Cup at the Botswana National Stadium on Sunday.

The first goal came in the first half, while two goals arrived in the last 10 minutes of the game.

The victory marked Pirates third consecutive victory, while scoring six goals without conceding.

The Soweto outfit came into this game having won their two previous games beating Uthongathi FC in the Nedbank Cup and Cape Town City in the league.

For the first time a number of games, the Buccaneers played with a genuine striker Terrence Dzukamanja, while influential player Thembinkosi Porch started on the bench.

Dzukamanja made his return to the Bugs line-up after recovering from an injury.

Josef Zinnbauer’s charges made a good start into the game, getting a goal just two minutes after the half hour mark.

Centre-back Thulani Hlatshwayo got the all important goal for Pirates.

As expected, Bucs had an upper hand in the game, with their opponents having last played a competitive match last year in December when Mamelodi Sundowns booted them out in the Caf Champions League.

However, the visitors went into the break with only one goal.

The South Africans went on in their search for a second goal, whereas Jwaneng were struggling to get an equaliser.

Pirates remained solid at the back, giving the home side no chance to get back into the game.

Pirates started to gain momentum in the match and would go on to score their second goal of the tie through midfielder Linda Mtambo in the 83rd minute.

Jean-Marc Makusu finally broke his duck by scoring the third goal for the South African MTN8 Champions.

The win has certainly placed the Buccaneers in a right path to go to into the next phase of the tournament.

But, the job is not done for the Buccaneers, as they have to host the Botswana side for the return leg on February 21 at the Orlando Stadium.

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