Orlando Pirates (0)1 - Lorch 76
SuperSport United (0)1 - Mnyamane 55
JOHANNESBURG - The pessimists will look at the countless of chances that Orlando Pirates missed. The optimists will focus on the fact that for a third successive match in Kjell Jonevret’s era, the Buccaneers came back to steal a point. The realist will admit though that there is still a lot of work to be done to turn things around for the Buccaneers.
Pirates once again celebrated a draw like it was a win, showing how low they have reached. The good thing about that is that the club can only go up from this. They are showing more fighting spirit under Jonevret, who expressed more emotions this time around than he did in the Soweto Derby.
Dressed in grey suits, Jonevret and Stuart Baxter looked like twins on the side-lines. Baxter stood for most of the match while Jonevret sat down, standing momentarily to stroll in his technical area as if to stretch his legs. The two coaches had a lengthy conversation just before the match. Jonevret must have welcomed the familiarity, finally facing a coach that he knows a thing or two about unlike his first two matches where he went into them blind.
The Swedish coach didn’t know much about Steve Komphela and Luc Eymael. But the fact that he knew a thing or two about Baxter didn’t mean that Pirates had an easy outing.
In fact, Baxter’s team almost burst the bubble of renewed confidence that Jonevret has injected into the team. SuperSport laid bare the Buccaneers’ woes – unable to defend, lacking creative spark in the middle and too predictable up front. Pirates, however, had enough strength and character to come back.
At first this was a cagey affair, with memories of the 6-1 demolition SuperSport handed Pirates in Nelspruit still fresh. The Buccaneers looked jittery, rushing when they should take their time in the box as they desperately wanted to create better memories.
Matsatsantsa a Pitori carried a heavy weight of expectation on their shoulders, not only chasing a record-equalling 19-match unbeaten run but also in search of a fourth straight win over the Buccaneers in all competitions.They only achieved matching Kaizer Chiefs' record of going 19 matches without a loss.
That resulted in a mind-numbing first half, lacking the sparks that lit up the corresponding fixture last year. The goalkeepers were hardly threatened because both these teams couldn’t string together four passes.
That display wasn’t surprising because Pirates have laboured this season, without a win now in 12 matches while SuperSport tend to be deadlier in the second half. The Tshwane side have scored 23 of their 31 goals in the second half, which has led to them being labelled slow starters.
Matsatsantsa lived up to that tag, waking up in the second half to take the lead through Thabo Mnyamane. That goal exposed Pirates’ defensive frailties. They firstly failed to decisively deal with a set-piece and then gave Mnyamane too much room to control before unleashing a shot that ricocheted from the post into the back of the net.
Pirates didn’t drop their heads after conceding that goal, working even harder to find the equaliser. Gabuza and Thembinkosi Lorch came close to doing just that but weren’t composed enough to beat Reyaad Pieterse. But Lorch, who had his goal in the Soweto Derby credited to Itumeleng Khune, wasn’t to be denied again. He finally opened his Pirates’ account with a crucial goal, snatching a point from a situation that looked dire.