Orlando Pirates Reserves finished their DStv Diski Challenge campaign on a winning note as they defeated their Golden Arrows counterparts 2-0 in their fixture held at Rand Stadium on Saturday morning.
The result means that the young Buccaneers finish second in the final league standings after collecting 61 points, while the KwaZulu-Natal outfit remains in the top eight with 47 points.
The hosts were first to assert their dominance early in the contest, pushing the visitors deep inside their own territory for much of the opening exchanges.
The first real attempt at goal came in the ninth minute off the boot of defender Siyabonga Ndlozi, whose volley from a fair distance out floated well off target.
He went close to opening the scoring from a similar range midway through the opening half with a curling shot that evaded the top corner of the goal by mere inches.
Pirates had their first shot on target soon after, with striker Mpumelelo Ndaba going one-on-one with Arrows keeper Lindokuhle Mdlalose, who made an important save to keep the game goalless.
Having spent the first half hour of the game defending, the visitors were forced to navigate the rest of the game a man down after Mthokozisi Duma lashed out at Bucs defender Samukele Kabini, prompting the referee to give him his marching orders.
The Buccaneers could have made their numerical advantage count immediately after, with Gomolemo Khoto finding a way past the defence before his shot at goal was kept out by Mdlalose.
Ndaba was the next Bucs player to be denied by the Abafana Bes’thende shot stopper, who made a comfortable save to block the striker’s header two minutes from the break.
The breakthrough came on the stroke of halftime through a moment of magic from Seun Moremi, who gathered the ball right on the edge of the box before creating space for himself amid a congested penalty area as he drove a low shot into the bottom corner to make it 1-0.
With a goal to the good, Pirates sought to double their lead early in the second half and came close to making it 2-0 four minutes after the restart as Mohau Nkota stormed down the middle of the park before pushing his shot narrowly wide.
They kept the pressure on the visitors, and were rewarded just five minutes later when the ball found its way to Ndaba inside the box, and the striker made no error as he calmly slotted home.
It remained one-way traffic for much of the second half as Lucky Bule went close with a powerful shot from outside the box which fizzed just wide of the upright, followed by a similar attempt from Nkota, who also couldn’t find the target.
Arrows had a late surge as the clock wound down, but were hamstrung by their numerical advantage as they failed to break down the hosts’ defence.
The two goals proved enough for the Bucs Reserves, who claimed all points on offer to consolidate their spot in second place on the table.
Pirates Reserves XI: Dladla, Ngiba, Kabini, Mokone, Ndlozi, Molepo (Mohlala 71’), Moremi, Bule, Nkota (Maphumulo 71’), Khoto (Mabuza 71), Ndaba (Mndebele 80’).
