Orlando Pirates forward Gabadinho Mhango has urged his side to remain grounded after scoring a first-half hat-trick against Polokwane City on Tuesday evening.

The Buccaneers returned to winning ways and moved up to fifth place in the Absa Premiership standings after cruising to a 4-1 victory over Rise and Shine at the Peter Mokaba Stadium.

Mhango continued his impressive form for the Buccaneers after scoring a hat-trick in the first half to earn himself the Man of the Match award.

The Malawi international has now moved to the top of the goal-scoring charts after bagging a total of 10 goals from 14 appearances in the league so far this season.

‘I am happy with last night’s performance,’ Mhango told his club’s official website.

‘This is just the result and performance we needed. We really got stuck into giving a good performance, very intense from front to back.

‘We worked so hard and moved the ball well particularly in the first half but, most importantly, we went home with all three points.

‘On a personal level, I am very pleased to have scored a hat-trick. As an attacking player, goals are what we live for. But there’s no time to relax, we need to stay grounded and not get ahead of ourselves. We have important games lined up this month. We need to try build on last night’s performance and produce some consistent results,’ he added.

Mhango will be hoping to continue his impressive form for Pirates when they host Mamelodi Sundowns in their next Absa Premiership encounter next Wednesday, with kick-off set for 7:30pm.