By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Orlando Pirates secured a 2-0 win over Algerian outfit JS Saoura in the Caf Confederation Cup clash at the Orlando Stadium on Sunday night.
Pirates got the breakthrough when captain Happy Jele turned home a loose ball on three minutes following a snap attempt by Goodman Mosele.
Saoura weren’t bothered by the set-back and could have been level on 16 minutes through a half-volley outside the area by Belaid Hamidi, but goalkeeper Siyabonga Mpontshane showed sharp reflexes.
He also made a good save midway through the half from JS Saoura’s dangerman Belaid Hamidi, who hit a volleyed effort on target but saw the Bucs’ goalie push it around the corner.
Pirates sustained momentum closer to the break and got chances which Kwame Peprah and Ntsako Makhubela didn’t utilise, as bright moments from the visitors showed too.
The second goal came in the 66th minute after a poor clearance from goalkeeper Zakaria Saidi, picked up by the industrious Mosele, who fed Thembinkosi Lorch. He, in turn, found Deon Hotto out wide and it was the square pass from the Namibian that Bandile Shandu got to for his third goal in Pirates’ colours this season.
In the end, the Bucs technical staff were spot-on with their tactics and the players executed superbly as an accomplished performance put the Soweto giants top of Group B.
The result should be a big confidence booster for the Buccaneers, who didn’t lose any home game during this stage of the competition last season, only to be knocked out of the quarter-finals.
Pirates now quickly have to take their minds back into domestic football, where they face Golden Arrows in their first DStv Premiership fixtures this year at home on Wednesday.
Meanwhile TP Mazembe pipped another South African club, Marumo Gallants, 1-0 with Lehlohonolo Nonyane turning a Soze Zemanga free-kick into his own net on the stroke of half-time in Lubumbashi.