Mosele’s Late Strike Secures Victory For Pirates Against City

Goodman Mosele emerged as the hero for Orlando Pirates, scoring a late winner to secure a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Cape Town City at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.

Pirates, facing the prospect of dropping points in their pursuit of league leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, rallied from a first-half deficit to snatch a crucial win. The victory keeps Pirates in second place in the Betway Premiership table with 36 points at the halfway mark of the season, nine points behind Sundowns, who have played two more games.

Cape Town City’s history at Orlando Stadium proved to be a significant hurdle. Since John Comitis acquired the status of Mpumalanga Black Aces in 2016/17, City had failed to secure a win at this venue. Their last victory at the stadium, as Aces, came in April 2014, courtesy of a goal from former Pirates striker Thulasizwe Mbuyane. Adding to their woes, City, despite defeating Pirates in January, had not won away from home under coach Muhsin Ertugral and entered the match on a four-game losing streak across all competitions without scoring.

Pirates started brightly, almost capitalizing on an early error when Nathan Fasika Idumba’s attempted clearance struck the crossbar. Patrick Maswanganyi, who missed a penalty in the previous encounter, then fired wide after dispossessing City in defense. However, City struck first with a clinical counter-attack. Kayden Francis and Prins Tjiueza combined to set up Haashim Domingo, who finished with a first-time strike, giving City the lead and marking Domingo’s first goal of the season.

Tjiueza nearly doubled City’s advantage, forcing Sipho Chaine into a fine save. Relebohile Mofokeng also tested Darren Keet from long range, but the former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper tipped the ball over the bar. Despite dominating possession, Pirates went into halftime trailing.

The second half saw Pirates continue to press for an equalizer, but they suffered a setback when Maswanganyi was forced off with a quad injury. However, his replacement, Mohau Nkota, made an immediate impact, providing the assist for Tshegofatso Mabasa’s superb equalizer in the 67th minute. The goal ignited the Pirates faithful, who roared their team on.

Philip Ndlondlo’s long-range effort was brilliantly saved by Keet, and the game became disjointed with numerous substitutions. As the match wore on, a draw seemed increasingly likely, which would have favored City in their pursuit of a top-eight finish.

However, Pirates’ persistence paid off in the 87th minute when Mosele pounced on a rebound after Keet made an initial save, tapping the ball over the line. It was Mosele’s first start and goal of the season, having returned from a loan spell at Chippa United and battled injuries.

City almost snatched a late equalizer when Tjiueza fired into the side netting, but Pirates held on to secure a vital victory.