Orlando Pirates secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Free State Stars at the Orlando Stadium in the Absa Premiership on Saturday.

Ea Lla Koto looked the more lively side in the opening exchanges of the match and came close to opening the scoring through the likes of Dlamini and Danny Venter in the opening 10 minutes.

The Buccaneers had an opportunity in the 15th minute to take the lead but Stars goalkeeper Thela Ngobeni was on hand to deny Justice Chabalala, making two saves in quick succession.

However, the Sea Robbers broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute when Tendai Ndoro beat his marker to fire his effort into the far corner to make it 1-0.

Despite conceding the opening goal of the match, Ea Lla Koto pushed forward in search of an equalising goal and looked threatening with Venter pulling the strings in the Stars midfield.

However, the Stars could not create any clear-cut chances at goal and were reduced to taking shots from distance.

The Buccaneers continued to press forward hoping to double their lead in the second half, but failed to create opportunities in the opening 20 minutes of the second half.

Pirates had the chance to extend their lead in the 73rd minute but Ndoro could not convert two close-range chances in quick succession.

However, Augustos Palacios’ side managed to hold on to their 1-0 lead over Stars until the final whistle to walk away with all three points at the Orlando Stadium on Saturday.

Image:  Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix