Johannesburg – The Pirates sauntered into the last round of the Caf Confederations Cup qualifiers after beating FC Mounana 5-2 on aggregate last night at Orlando Stadium.
A hat-trick from Kermit Erasmus was enough to see the Sea Robbers cruise into the last round before the group stages which will take place next month.
Erasmus made his return to Pirates’ starting line-up after an achilles tendon injury which saw him miss out on Bucs’ 2-0 defeat against Bidvest Wits. Erasmus also missed the away first leg clash against Mounana in Gabon but certainly delivered on the night to help his side progress further in continental cup competition.
The Sea Robbers went into the second leg having produced two away goals in a 2-2 draw with the Gabonese side two weeks ago. Goals from Lehlohonolo Majoro and Thabo Rakhale late in the second stanza of that match were enough to see them secure the much-needed away goals advantage going into last night’s return leg.
Pirates played with a great sense of urgency and aggression going forward throughout the first fist half here. Their supports where left cheering throughout the night while their home side dominated matters as they interchanged passes going forward in search for goals.
They could have made it 1-0 as early as the 12th minute after Thabo Matlaba displayed some good work inside the box on the near side before laying the ball off to Erasmus, whose shot, however, was kept at bay as shot-stopper Stephane Bitseki.
But the centre-forward was not done yet, not by a long shot. Erasmus’s first goal came in the 25th minute thanks to a well-delivered surging cross on the far side by Sifiso Myeni. Erasmus struck the roof of the net to make it 1-0 for the home side after having found Bitseki off his line.
Four minutes later, the stocky forward returned for his second goal and there was little that Mounana’s defensive line could do about it. With only the keeper to beat, Erasmus produced a dummy with the outside of his boot to beat the on-rushing shot-stopper before he slotted home to give Pirates a 2-0 lead going into the second half.
The second half was not different. Pirates continued with their dominance and Mounana showed no desire whatsoever of pushing forward, and Pirates took advantage of the situation and exerted their authority over the visitors throughout.
Erasmus scored his third 15 minutes into the second half, after having received a well-delivered pass from Thamsanqa Gabuza.