Johannesburg — Orlando Pirates’ top two aspirations suffered a huge blow after Lifa Hlongwane’s lone strike ensured that TS Galaxy beat them 1-0 in their DStv Premiership match at Mbombela Stadium on Monday afternoon.
The Bucs are fourth on the log with 40 points, five behind the second placed Royal AM who have a game in hand. Meanwhile, the win for Galaxy meant that they moved out of the relegation zone to 13th spot.
Pirates will now turn their focus to the CAF Confederation Cup semi-final where they’ll play Al Ahli Tripoli in Libya in the first leg on Sunday. If they get a win there, they’ll put one foot in their first continental final since 2015.
This game had all the makings of a six-pointer, given that Pirates are chasing for a top two finish while Galaxy are fighting for their lives as they are embroiled in the relegation dogfight.
Pirates had a bright start though. They were patient in their build-up play, with engine room duo Goodman Mosele and Linda Mntambo trying to cut the Rockets’ defence open.
Pirates’ first real threat at goal came from Thembinkosi Lorch’s ambitious attempt from the centre-line after he tried to pick out keeper Melusi Buthelezi, who was out of his line. But that dipping effort whisked away from the crossbar.
Terrence Dzvukamanja had a clearer chance to put Pirates in the lead early on after a goal scramble in the box, but the Zimbabwean poked his effort over the crossbar.
The tempo of the game decreased midway through the first half, although Pirates had chances to score. Innocent Maela’s header hit the edge of the crossbar before Jele placed a glancing header wide from a corner-kick.
Pirates’ wasteful acts came back to haunt them. Lindokuhle Mbatha nicely beat Jele with pace and skill on the edge of the box, forcing keeper Richard Ofori to commit before the veteran attacker teed up Hlongwane who slotted into an empty net.
Galaxy escaped a scare closer to halfway after Buthulezi needed medical attention for a while, following a recurring pain. The Rockets’ No. 1, though, was okay to continue with the half as Galaxy took a slender lead to the break.
Although Pirates made two substitutions at half-time as Kwame Peprah and Fortune Makaringe came on for Mntambo and Jele respectively, it was rather Galaxy that started on a high.
A well-weighted pass from the engine room found a loose Orebotse Mongae up front, but the Galaxy attacker hit the ball against an onrushing Ofori who incredibly parried the effort back to play.
With the clock winding down, Pirates found their feet again, with the introduction of Peprah making the difference.
Lorch missed a tap-in after he reacted late to Peprah’s hard and low shot in the face of goal. But the former nearly made up for that miss with a piledrive that sailed wide.
Pirates huffed and puffed, with Makaringe also forcing a brilliant save out of Buthelezi from pin-point range after being unleashed by Peprah.
In the end, Hlongwane’s goal was enough to see the Rockets claim all three points as they continue their fight for survival while Pirates’ ambitions to play Champions League next season continued to fade away.
IOL Sport