Pirates beat Stars to finish on a high

Orlando Pirates finished the season on a high by beating Free State Stars 2-1 at the Orlando Stadium on Saturday afternoon, writes DEAN WORKMAN.

Coming into the game, Pirates had already secured second spot on the log while Stars had one eye on the Nedbank Cup final, resting a number of players as a result.

From the onset, the Buccaneers looked to control possession of the ball, while Luc Eymael’s team were clearly set up to hit Pirates on the counter.

After a slow start, the game sprung to life when Milutin Sredojevic’s team opened the scoring within 22 minutes. Justin Shonga delivered an expertly placed cross from a corner kick and Ntsikelelo Nyauza rose highest, sending his bullet header into the top corner, 1-0 to the home side.

Pirates continued to control possession but were struggling to break down the men from Bethlehem, who also could not fashion any real opening of their own in the remainder of the first half.

Eymael would have been hoping for a response from his side in the second half and that’s exactly what he got as they grabbed a leveller on 52 minutes. Stars were awarded a free kick, which was whipped into the box and then flicked on by Paulus Masehe into the path Nhlanhla Vilakazi who made no mistake with his finish.

Just as the game began to open up, there was a long stoppage in play when Stars goalkeeper Thela Ngobeni went down with an injury and had to be taken off.

Stars had a glorious chance to take the lead when the ball fell to Vilakazi following a corner. The striker, however, could not direct his shot on target.

Pirates then took the lead through substitute Thamsanqa Gabuza. Shonga drove in a powerful effort from distance and the shot was too hot to handle for replacement goalkeeper Badra Sangare, who parried his effort into the path of Gabuza, leaving the striker with the easiest of tap-ins, 2-1 to Pirates with 86 minutes gone.

The Sea Robbers managed to negotiate the 10 additional minutes to claim the three points and finish the season with a victory.

Other results on the final day of the Absa Premiership: