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Orlando Pirates cantered past the opening round of the Nedbank Cup, beating ABC Motsepe League outfit Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila 4-1 in their game played at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday.
With a commanding performance away from home, the Buccaneers maintained their unbeaten run in domestic cup competition this season as they marched into the Round of 16 following what was a clinical display.
They had been tasked with a tricky assignment first up in the Nedbank Cup, and were wary of the threat posed by the determined lower league outfit as set about asserting their dominance early on. They found their first shot at goal through a set piece taken by Deon Hotto, whose effort from a long distance out made for an easy save for goalkeeper Lebohang Mohale.
The visitors dominated possession throughout the opening exchanges, placing their hosts under siege. It did not take long for the pressure to tell with Oswin Appollis brought down inside the penalty area by Sithembiso Ngobe as he attempted to cut inside from the right.
Making his first start in Bucs colours, Andre de Jong bravely stepped up and had no problem converting as he calmly slotted home, sending Mohale the wrong way to make it 1-0 inside 10 minutes.
Having made an early breakthrough, Pirates did not take their foot off the pedal despite being in the lead, continuing to set up camp inside the TTM half.
They were quickly rewarded with their second as Thalente Mbatha found himself in space outside the box before releasing a right-footer shot which caught a deflection from Silindokuhle Mponzo, whose touch inside the box wrong-footed his own keeper on its way to the back of the net.
Shots continued to fly towards the Tshakhuma goal midway through the first half, with the two men responsible for the goals, De Jong and Mbatha, each failing to trouble Mohale with attempts from a fair distance out. The home side meanwhile fed off scraps for most of the first half, winning the rare set piece inside Bucs territory.
It was through a dead-ball situation that they managed to pull one back with Ngobe making amends for his earlier mistake with a well-taken shot from a free kick, which left the outstretched Melusi Buthelezi no chance.
That set up a tense finish to the first half as Pirates sought to restore their two-goal lead before the break. The scoreline remained unchanged however as Vhadau Vhadamani held on to limit the Soweto Giants to a narrow advantage.
Following the second-half restart, Pirates were quick off the blocks and could have made it three through midfielder Masindi Nemtajela, who misfired from close range in the 48th minute. The effects of that miss did not linger for too long with replacement midfielder Patrick Maswanganyi providing the elusive third as he sliced past the defence, linking with Yanela Mbuthuma before calmly guiding the ball past the keeper.
That seemed to knock the wind out of the home side’s sails as Pirates made constant surges into opposition territory.
Hotto was denied by Mohale from close range after running into a long ball from debutant Mpho Chabatsane before drawing a similar result from a set piece taken from a fair distance out. The Tshakhuma shot-stopper was kept busy, with Mbuthuma, Sebelebele and Maswanganyi each forcing him into action as the Buccaneers’ manoeuvred past the defence with ease.
He had no answer for a Sipho Mbule stinger, struck from outside the box into the bottom corner as Pirates went three goals clear in the 90th minute.
Tshakhuma had a few bright moments in injury time, but none posed too much of a threat to the Soweto Giants who maintained their dominance to deliver a convincing win.
Pirates XI: Buthelezi, Sibisi (Sesane 80’), Chabatsane, Van Rooyen, Hotto, Mbatha, Nemtajela (Mbule 61’), De Jong (Maswanganyi 46’), Appollis (Sebelebele 61’), Moremi (Msendami 46’), Mbuthuma.
SOURCED FROM THE CLUB’S WEBSITE.