Cape Town - Cape Town City fought back from a goal down to claim a 2-1 victory over Orlando Pirates at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday evening, handing Jose Riveiro's men a third successive league defeat.
The Citizens moved up to sixth on the DStv premiership log, while Pirates failed to draw closer to CAF qualification spots and currently languish in seventh place.
The Sea Robbers' most outstanding player in the last campaign, Deon Hotto fired the visitors in front with a thunderbolt from just outside the box in the 21st minute.
The speedy winger received a pass from Miguel Timm in the D-line and with no option to pass, he went for the spectacular and drilled the ball past Darren Keet who would've been disappointed at his effort.
And 10 minutes later, the home side found the equaliser through January arrival Juan Camilo Zapata.
The 1.70-metre-tall attacking midfielder showed an incredible leap as he jumped over Nkosinathi Sibisi and headed into the bottom of the net, ensuring the two sides went into the break level.
Second-half substitute Darwin Gonzalez grabbed the potential winner for coach Eric Tinkler's men as he finished off a well-orchestrated move in the 73rd minute, leaving Pirates staring at yet another league defeat.
Buccaneers coach Riveiro handed a first league start to third-choice goalkeeper Sipho Chaine with preferred starter Richard Ofori as well as Siyabonga Mpontshane sidelined through injuries.
The Spanish mentor also tossed his preferred 3-4-3 for a more basic 4-3-3 formation with Hotto, Monnapule Saleng supporting Kermit Erasmus, who returned to face his former club.
The pressure to keep up with the top three teams must've been on the minds of Pirates as they began the match seven points off SuperSport United, who had lost earlier on in the day.
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The readjustments at the back seemed to aid the Buccaneers going forward as they utilised the left-hand side to good effect, however, it hampered their defensive prowess, a key element to their early season success.
The worrying factor though for Pirates would've been their lack of precision in front of goal, keeping just four of their 11 attempts at goal on target past the 60th minute.
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Tinkler's men would've been feeling the pressure to get back amongst the teams in the top eight as a victory for them would've lifted them into the seventh spot, and it showed as the coach threw in Gonzalez and Taahir Goedeman in the second half.
Despite their best efforts, Pirates could not avoid a third successive league defeat, leaving them in seventh place and 18 points off log-leading Mamelodi Sundowns.
IOL Sport