Orlando Pirates were forced to share the spoils with AmaZulu after playing out to a goalless draw at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in the DStv Premiership on Tuesday evening.

When the Buccaneers returned to league play after a break of 34 days, they were looking for three points to move up from 14th place in the standings.

It didn’t work out for them when they tried to take advantage of the hosts’ nervous start because there weren’t many chances at goal in the beginning.

The Buccaneers didn’t get their first shot on goal until the 15th minute, when Thabiso Monyane drilled the ball into the goal from a tight angle. Usuthu keeper Veli Mothwa caught it after it had been fumbled.

That was one of the few exciting moments in a half that was mostly physical fights. Attacking chances were hard to come by on both ends of the pitch.

Even though the visitors had more of the ball, they couldn’t score in the second half, even though the game moved faster.

There was a chance for Thembinkosi Lorch in the 53rd minute, but Evidence Makgopa’s shot from the left side of the field missed the mark. He slid in to try to make the final touch.

It was still busiest on the left side of the pitch. Later, Lorch connected with Karim Kimvuidi, the replacement midfielder, who tried an acrobatic move but couldn’t get the ball close enough to Mothwa to cause him trouble.

In the 76th minute, Makgopa hit a close-range header wide as Pirates stepped up their play to try to score the first goal.

They pinned the home team back in their own half for most of the last few minutes of the game. Monnapule Saleng set up Thabang Monare, who shot wide from the edge of the box.

This happened before Patrick Maswanganyi got the same result from close range when he caught Kimvuidi’s clever chip. He showed great control to get himself free to shoot, but his shot went wide.

In the end, there was no way to break the tie. The Buccaneers gained one point on the road and moved up one spot to 13th place in the standings.

Photo by Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix