Orlando Pirates secured a late point, thanks to a 84th-minute Vincent Pule strike in their Absa Premiership clash against Baroka at the Orlando Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Pirates came into the game off the back of their resounding 3-0 win over Horoya AC in the Caf Champions League over the weekend. With a win, the Buccaneers could have gone level on points with table toppers Bidvest Wits, no easy task given their packed fixture schedule.
Baroka, who beat Pirates in the TKO final late last year, last played on Saturday 12 January in a 2-2 draw against Cape Town City, and did not have a lot of time to prepare for the clash. Bakgaga would have been desperate for some sort of result to help steer them away 14th position they find themselves in.
The Soweto giants won the first encounter 2-1 in Limpopo and would certainly have been looking for a repeat result in the clash at the Orlando Stadium.
The home side started on the front foot and came close to opening the scoring inside two minutes, but Justin Shonga failed to hit the target from 12 yards out.
The away side made sure that the Buccaneers rued their missed goal, as they fired the opener in 10 minutes later when Matome Mabeba hit the back of the net with a superb free kick.
Pirates then went about trying to get back into the game, but despite controlling the lion’s share of the possession, they lacked the quality to create any real chances with the likes of Pule, Shonga and Augustine Mulenga showing poor decision-making.
1-0 at the break with the TKO champs leading the title chasers.
Milutin Sredojevic turned to the substitutes’ bench in the second half as Pirates continued to struggle to create goal-scoring chances. Both Thembinkosi Lorch and Thamsanqa Gabuza came on, but still the Buccaneers could not test Elvis Chipezeze in the Baroka goal.
Just as it looked as though it would not be Pirates’ day, Pule popped up to score the equaliser. The winger doing well to send his looping header past Chipezeze with only six minutes remaining.
Sredojevic’s team then went in search of a late winner, but it was not forthcoming as they had to settle for the point and remain two points behind leaders Wits.
Photo: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix
