Pirates edge 10-man Chiefs to end their unbeaten run

Pirates dominated possession in the opening 20 minutes, but Chiefs carved out the big chances. Orlando Pirates ended Kaizer Chiefs’ unbeaten run, edging them 2-1 in a Soweto derby at FNB Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Yanela Mbuthuma opened the scoring for the Buccaneers before Pule Mmodi equalised for Amakhosi. Tshepang Moremi scored the winning goal in the second half. Pirates dominated possession in the opening 20 minutes, but Chiefs carved out the big chances. Wandile Duba wasted a glorious chance to put Amakhosi in the lead in the 13th minute when he found himself in a one-on-one situation with Sipho Chaine after he was sent through on goal by Mduduzi Shabalala, but Chaine did well to close the angle on him and made a save. Three minutes later, Mfundo Vilakazi did well to turn his marker before setting up Pule Mmodi, who could only hit the side netting from close range. Lebone Seema wasted a chance to put Pirates in the lead in the 19th minute when he sent his free header wide of goal from a corner kick. But it didn’t take long for Pirates to find the opening goal as Yanela Mbuthuma’s deflected shot beat Brandon Petersen in the 24th minute. There was a hint of an offside, but referee Luxolo Badi allowed the goal to stand. A mistake by Chaine led to Chiefs’ equaliser on the half-hour mark. The Bafana Bafana goalkeeper failed to hold on to Vilakazi’s tame shot, and Pule Mmodi was there to put the ball between his legs. Chiefs finished the half stronger, and they had a couple of chances to regain their lead, but the teams were tied at 1-1 at the half-time break. Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou replaced Nkosikhona Ndaba with Ghampani Lungu and moved Hotto to his familiar left back position. Hotto started the game playing in the unfamiliar right back position. The Buccaneers came out firing in the second half and restored their lead in the 56th minute when Thapelo Mokobodi beat the offside trap and showed unselfishness by setting up Tshepang Moremi for the simple tap-in. Amakhosi were forced to make a change in the 70th minute when Reeve Frosler was stretchered off with an injury. He was replaced by Zitha Kwinika. Any hopes of a Chiefs comeback were shut down in the referee’s optional when Inacio Miguel was sent off after picking up his second yellow card, and in the end, they suffered their first defeat of the season.