Durban — Two late goals earned Sekhukhune United a hard-fought 2-0 win over 10-man Orlando Pirates at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Tuesday.
The first goal came after Elias Mokwana received a pass from Linda Mntambo, with Mokwana taking advantage of the space offered to him by the Pirates defence and produced a cool finish, which beat Richard Ofori in goal for the Sea Robbers.
Ofori then gifted Sekhukhune their second goal in second-half stoppage time as he came off his line, before losing the ball to Vusumzi Mncube, who slotted home.
Pirates, utilising a 3-4-1-2 formation, dominated the early proceedings as far as possession went.
It took Pirates just one minute to create their first attack as Goodman Mosele and Thabiso Monyane combined. The latter struck at goal with his weaker left foot, but failed to test Sekhukhune keeper Badra Sangare.
Despite having more possession, Pirates failed to breach the Sekhukhune defensive line, who to their credit, held their resolve.
A big reason why Pirates struggled to breach the defensive line of the home team was due to the between by Daniel Cardoso and Edwin Gyimah.
The experienced duo kept their cool to thwart off the bulk of Pirates’ attacks.
Sekhukhune would craft out their first opportunity in the game in the 16th minute as Gyimah found himself on the receiving end of a cross.
The Ghanaian got too far ahead of the ball, mistiming his positioning, which led to the opportunity coming to nothing for Kaitano Tembo’s side.
Pirates goalkeeper Ofori later went on to make an excellent save at full stretch to deny Sekhukhune captain Mntambo, who struck with power after having been played in by Victor Letsoalo, who probed down left channel.
Sekhukhune started to find more space early on in the second half which culminated in Mntambo having another good opportunity to score following a pass from Cardoso, but he again forced a save out of Ofori.
Pirates were reduced to 10 men in the 58th minute as Monyane received his marching orders following a reckless and poor challenge on Mncube.
Even after being a man down, Pirates did not stop attacking as Kermit Erasmus went on to waste a good opportunity after he was played in by Deon Hotto.
Sekhukhune are next in action on Friday as they travel to Lucas Moripe Stadium to face SuperSport United.
Pirates host Richards Bay at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.
IOL Sport