Mhango magic hands Bucs second successive win

This was a second win for the Buccaneers, who recorded a 2-1 victory over SuperSport United in their previous game.

The win keeps Bucs hopes of finishing in third place on the log and secure a spot in the Caf Confederations Cup for next season.

Pirates have now moved up to fourth place on the log with 49 points level with Bidvest Wits, while the Team of Choice remain in sixth place with 42.

A positive start from Pirates early in the game with Ben Motshwari unleashing Thembinkosi Lorch with a good pass, but the winger wasn’t able to get the ball on target as his shot went wide off target.

In the 19th minute, Maritzburg got inside the box when Bongokuhle Hlongwane controlled the ball nicely before passing the ball to Thabiso Kutumela who took a shot, but it was blocked by the Bucs defenders.

Lorch once again got what was probably the best chance of the game just before the half hour mark after being set-up by Vincent Pule while facing the poles, but his attempt unfortunately went way off the target.

Bucs got another chance through Siphesihle Ndlovu after getting a break with some nice dribbling which saw him sneak his way into the Maritzburg box, but the midfielder couldn’t put the ball on target in the 37th minute.

With the game heading towards the break, Bucs made much entry into the Maritzburg box with Pule coming close to getting Bucs a lead following a powerful curler, but he was denied by the woodwork – while the Team of Choice continued to ensure that they keep the game goalless.

The Buccaneers were at it again in opening seconds of the game in the second stanza, but Richard Ofori was able to deny Lorch from inside the box.

A quick one-two initiated by Hlongwane saw him find Kutumela just on the edge of the Bucs box, but the striker was quickly closed down by the Pirates defenders in the 50th minute.

Eight minutes later, Wayne Sandilands was brought into action with a well struck shot by Hlongwane from long range, but the Bucs keeper was able to prevent from going inside the net.

Maritzburg continued to be a nuisance for the opposition with Kutumela constantly looking to get into the Bucs, but they were not getting things right when it comes to getting that first goal.

Eagerly looking for a lead, Bucs coach Josef Zinnbauer made a double change brining on Tshegofatso Mabasa and Kabelo Dlamini swapping them for Zakhele Lepasa and Lorch.

Meanwhile, Eric Tinkler also made changes for the Team of Choice taking off Daylon Claasen for Bandile Shandu in the 76th minute.

Bucs made another substitute bringing on Mhango for Fortune Makaringe with only less than 10 minutes of regular play left to play.

A couple of minutes later after coming on, the Malawian managed to put Bucs in the lead with a scotching strike making it 1-0.

The goal was enough to secure maximum points for the Soweto giants going into the last round of fixtures of the league.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.