Saleng and Erasmus get Pirates back to winning ways

The combination of Monnapule Saleng and Kermit Erasmus brought some hope to Orlando Pirates’ DStv Premiership season on Tuesday after the pair helped the club beat Golden Arrows 2-0 at the Princess Magogo Stadium. 

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Saleng and Erasmus were impressive on the night, with their combinations making the Buccaneers dangerous every time they were on the attack. 

Bucs jumped to fourth place on the log with the victory – Jose Riveiro’s side are now on 19 points from 12 matches. 

This was a positive response for the Soweto giants, after they went on a four games winless streak.  Arrows, meanwhile, remain in eighth spot with 13 points in 11 games. 

The home side was under pressure from the start, with Pirates pressing high. The away team’s efforts paid dividends following a nice piece of control from Erasmus, who set-up Saleng and the latter put the ball in the net in the sixth minute. 

Arrows had a good attempt at goal through Velemseni Ndwande’s header, but it went wide. The Erasmus and Saleng combination came in handy once more with the former Mamelodi Sundowns striker the provider, and Saleng again the finisher in the 24^th minute.

Bucs could have been 3-0 up before the break, but Nkosingiphile Gumede denied Erasmus, while Deon Hotto’s shot went across the face of goal.  

The Sea Robbers were keen on continuing things from where they left off in the second half. Arrows also had plans of their own, with the side threatening with shots from Pule Mmodi and Nduduzo Sibiya, but they didn’t have any luck in finding a goal. 

With 10 minutes left, Mmodi had a glorious chance to pull one goal back after being picked out in the Bucs box, but he failed to capitalise on the chance. 

At the other end, Pirates’ attacks weren’t as effective as they were in the beginning of the match.

Arrows kept things solid at the back, but the Buccaneers had done enough to seal maximum points on the night.