Mbatha and Mofokeng on target as Pirates maintain perfect start

A goal in each half by Thalente Mbatha and Relebohile Mofokeng gave Orlando Pirates a 2-0 victory over a 10-man TS Galaxy outfit at the Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday evening.

It was the Buccaneers’ sixth win in as many matches and it extended their lead at the top of the Betway Premiership standings to six points.

Prior to the game, Pirates assistant coach Mandla Ncikazi predicted a tough encounter against The Rockets and it certainly was not an easy evening’s work for the Buccaneers as Galaxy gave as much as they got in Mbombela.

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After absorbing pressure from the hosts in the beginning stages of the match, the Buccaneers slowly took more of a grip as the half continued, and when their chance came it was well-taken.

Galaxy gave the ball away on the left and it fell in the path of Mbatha who collected it just outside the penalty box and unleashed a powerful long range shot that went past Ira Tape and into the back of the net in the 16th minute.

Galaxy coach Sead Ramovic decided to take out Thokozani Sibanyoni who was struggling with the tempo of the game just after the half hour break and replaced him with Nkosikhona Radebe and the midfielder definitely gave the home side a new dimension to their attack and caused problems for Pirates.

Mbatha tried his luck again from an almost similar position in the 37th minute, but this time Ira was on hand to make a save.

The Rockets thought they had earned themselves a penalty on the stroke of half-time when it looked like Deon Hotto had fouled Radebe inside the box, but referee Eugene Mdluli waved play on, much to the frustration of Ramovic and his bench.

The home side took the game to the visitors at the beginning of the second half, but it was Pirates who almost doubled their lead through Mohau Nkotha in the 53rd minute, but his shot was saved by Ira.

A minute later Puso Dithejane did well to turn his marker inside the Pirates box, but he miscued his shot and it went wide of goal.

Mofokeng then made certain that the Buccaneers took maximum points from the match when he doubled their lead in the 72nd minute. The youngster dispossessed Mpho Mvelase before unleashing a wonderful strike that gave Ira no chance.

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Galaxy were reduced to 10 men on the stroke of full time when Kamogelo Sebelebele tried to dupe the referee into awarding him a penalty, but he received a yellow card for diving and it was his second of the match and resulted in a red card. 

Meanwhile, in other Betway Premiership matches played on Tuesday evening, AmaZulu registered their first win of the season with a 2-0 win over Chippa United 2-0 in Durban, while Sekhukhune United moved up to third position on the log after beating a 10-man Richards Bay with the same scoreline in Polokwane.