Wasteful Pirates miss chance to move second with Spurs draw

Orlando Pirates lost an opportunity to go second in the DStv Premiership standings after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Cape Town Spurs at the Orlando Stadium on Wednesday.

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It was a disappointing draw for the Buccaneers who were aiming for a second league win in a row after beating Polokwane City in their previous match.

Pirates dominated the match, created more chances and scored earlier in the game, but allowed the Urban Warriors back into the game after conceding late in the second half.

The result means Bucs remain in fifth place on the league table with 30 points after 19 matches.

Spurs would be happy with a point away from home with the Mother City-based outfit fighting to get out of the relegation zone.

The Urban Warriors Spurs are at the bottom of the standings with 11 points from the same number of matches as Bucs

It was clear from the onset that Pirates were looking to get an early goal and they attacked Spurs from the first whistle, causing problems for the opponents defence on both the left and right side.

It took only 12 minutes for the Buccaneers to get the lead, with a well-executed goal by teenager Relebohile Mofokeng, beating Neil Boshoff with a low curled shot.

The away side almost made an immediate response, but Chumani Butshaka was denied by the upright.

Ashley Cupido also had a great chance to level matters for Spurs just after the half-hour mark, but he couldn’t connect with the ball inside the Bucs box.

In the second period, Bucs still had the upper hand in the game, with the home side creating more goal-scoring chances, while Spurs rarely managed to get into the Pirates box.

But, a moment of magic from Spurs saw new signing Gadiel Kamagi’s thunderous shot found the back of the net to make it 1-1 in the 76th minute.

Pirates fought hard to try and get a win in additional minutes, but Boshoff made sure the teams shared a point each with some fine saves.

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A draw against Spurs is something the Buccaneers were not looking for, especially ahead of the Soweto derby against Kaizer Chiefs at the FNB Stadium on Saturday.