Mihlali Baleka
ORLANDO PIRATES (1) 1
Makgopa 27’
RICHARDS BAY 0
The Sea Robbers are finally in seventh heaven after beating Richards Bay at a gloomy Orlando Stadium on Tuesday to reach an unprecedented run of seven successive wins in the Betway Premiership.
Pirates were coolness personified here. They controlled the match from start to finish, extending their lead at the top of the standings to six points after seven games. Their blistering start has now many of The Ghost believing that this is the season for them to win the Premiership.
It’s been more than 20 years since the 2002/03 Class of Roy Barreto, who won six games at the start of the league season en route the team’s championship triumph. And while it may have taken Jose Riveiro his third season to smash that record, it appears that it was worth the wait as they are now yet to be beaten in the league.
Bay’s coach Brandon Truter thought he could change that narrative, but it wasn’t to be. The fact that he led his side to the Carling Knockout neither here nor there for Pirates.
This victory was impressive by Pirates, who hardly seemed to break a sweat – even the dark clouds which threatened to open up before the game respected the occasion. It’s still early days into the season, but Pirates are fast looking like the team who knows what it will take to win the Premiership.
The Sea Robbers stuck to their gameplan and were in no rush for an early goal, which would all put daylight between them and Mamelodi Sundowns, who trail by six points. It was as if they had shut out the outside noise from Sundowns’ coach Manqoba Mngqithi, who had made a bold claim about the title race last week.
Mngqithi seemed to have thrown a curveball to Pirates after the 3-0 win over Cape Town City, saying he likes to be the hunter in the title race instead of being the hunted. The Brazilians had led the chasing pack en route to the last seven successive titles in a row, including almost going an entire season last term as ‘Invicibles’.
But it appears that Pirates are not fazed by the responsibility of being ahead in the standings as they kept things cool and tidy here last night. They sat back in the opening stages as Bay made a flurry of inroads into their final third without penetration as Sipho Chaine stood firm in goal.
While Chaine earned his cheque to applause from The Ghost in the stands, his outfield teammates were still not fazed. They were calm and collected. They were comfortable on the ball as they rotated play with ease, allowing Patrick Maswanganyi to conduct their orchestra in the engine room.
Pirates’ patience in build-up finally paid off after the 26th minute as Evidence Makgopa capitalised on a mistake from goalkeeper Ian Otieno to put his side ahead. James Monyane hit a timid shot just outside the box, which the Kenyan clumsily failed to hold onto, and which then spilled to the feet of Makgopa, who duly accepted the gift and slotted home.
While the stadium went into a frenzy, Riveiro remained stuck in his seat, sipping on a bottle of water as his team’s patience finally paid off. Riveiro’s coolness was understandable. After all, a win here would not only see him smash a record but grant him his 61st win in his 100th game in charge of the team.
Pirates went into the break with the 1-0 lead, and that was thanks to Otieno who revived himself with two good saves from Monyane and Mohau Nkota’s goal bound shots.
Pirates' calm approach allowed Relebohile Mofokeng to flourish in the second half as he sneaked into spaces to the awe of The Ghost, who rued every missed chance. Nkota had had a binding shot at goal early in the second half, but Otieno came to his rescue, parrying it away for a corner as Pirates threatened to double their lead.
The second goal didn’t come, though, but this was Pirates' win. They controlled the narrative as they cruised to the seventh heaven without breaking a sweat!