Pirates storm back to complete Soweto derby double over Chiefs

Orlando Pirates climbed up to second spot on the DStv Premiership standings following an electrifying Soweto derby against Kaizer Chiefs at the FNB Stadium on Saturday.

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In a game which produced five goals, it was the Buccaneers who went on to claim victory against their rivals, winning 3-2 on the day.

Pirates fought hard to claim a victory after Amakhosi had scored first in the match, and led 2-1 at half time, but Jose Riveiro’s men showed great determination to win the tie.

It was a great start for Amakhosi, with the Naturena outfit getting a lead in the sixth-minute courtesy of fine strike by Ashley Du Preez.

The Buccaneers didn’t hold back, throwing more bodies forward in search of an equaliser.

The hosts’ prayers was finally answered in the 24th minute thanks to a well-taken shot by Monnapule Saleng to make it 1-1.

From then on, it was end-to-end action from both teams as they were looking to go into the break with a lead.

Pirates losing possession in the middle of the park led to Amakhosi’s second goal, with Du Preez going on to grab his second goal of the match to make it 2-1 for the Glamour Boys.

In the second half, the hosts became much more aggressive in search of an equaliser with several attempts at goals.

Beautifully taken

New signing Thabiso Lebitso made it 2-2 with a beautifully taken strike just two minutes before the hour mark from a Deon Hotto ball pass just outside the box.

The Buccaneers made it 3-2 thanks to Saleng following a counter-attack with Saleng put through by a delicate chip from Patrick Maswanganyi in the 68th minute.

The Buccaneers suffered a major blow at the back, with centre back Olisa Ndah forced out of the match with to an injury and he was replaced by Nkosinathi Sibisi with less than 15 minutes remaining to the end of match.

Chiefs did everything to try to get their way back in the game, but it wasn’t to be for the Sea Robbers, who could have added a fourth goal in the dying minutes of the match, but Bruce Bvuma denied Relebohile Mofokeng.

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With the win, Pirates are now on 33 points after 20 games, while Chiefs have 29 points from the same number of matches