Orlando Pirates beat Chippa United 3-1 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday afternoon to go top of the DStv Premiership standings.

Tshegofatso Mabasa was handed a start following his goalscoring performance last time out, with Deon Hotto dropping to the bench for the Sea Robbers.

The home side got off to a strong start, forcing Siyabonga Mpontshane into an early save as he had to get down low to deny Sekotlong, whose shot was heading into the bottom corner.

Gavin Hunt’s men then took the lead in the 11th minute as Mogakolodi Ngele’s ball down the left flank found Phakamani Mahlambi, who ran at his defender letting an effort fly which bundled into the Pirates net after a couple of deflections.

It didn’t, however, take Pirates long to hit back as they equalised in the 28th minute as Mabasa got on the end of the cross and fired home from close range to get his second goal in as many games.

Pirates looked to control the game heading towards the break but were struggling to break down a disciplined Chippa side.

After a quiet start to the second half, Pirates took the lead for the first  time with 60 minutes played as Vincent Pule won the ball back deep inside Pirates’ half and started off a sweeping counter-attack, with Abel Mabaso finishing off the move.

The Soweto giants then wrapped up the game with nine minutes to play as Terrence Dzvukamanja played a through ball for Goodman Mosele, who beat the offside trap and finished clinically into the back of the net.

It was almost 4-1 up moments later but Pule’s header was cleared off the line and from Thereon.

Ultimately, Pirates walked away with the three goals and three points to move top of the table for now.