A strike from Orlando Pirates winger Mohau Nkota sealed a crucial 1-0 Betway Premiership victory for the Buccaneers against SuperSport United on Tuesday night, marking Mandla Ncikazi’s first win at the helm as interim coach.
The young talent netted the winning goal for Pirates in the 72nd minute after receiving a great pass from second-half substitute Karim Kimvuidi.
Pirates visited SuperSport at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane as they continue to catch up on their games in hand. The Soweto giants played fewer matches in the Premiership after their involvement in the CAF Champions League.
Pirates went all the way to the semi-final of the continental showpiece, where they lost 3-2 on aggregate against Egyptian club Pyramids FC.
Before clashing against Matsatsantsa, the Buccaneers played to a 1-1 draw against TS Galaxy at Orlando Stadium last Saturday.
The home match against the Rockets was Pirates’ first outing without their head coach, Jose Riveiro, who left the club last week.
Riveiro is reportedly on his way to take over the hot seat at Al Ahly as a eeplacement Marcel Koller, who was fired last month.
Following Riveiro’s exit, Mandla Ncikazi has taken over the coaching job on an interim basis for the remainder of the 2024/25 season.
NCIKAZI GIVES GOALIE SIYABONGA DLADLA HIS PIRATES DEBUT
The former Golden Arrows mentor handed goalkeeper Siyabonga Dladla his debut in the top-flight. The goalie has been serving as an understudy to Sipho Chaine and Melusi Buthelezi.
In a match against SuperSport, Pirates had an underwhelming start after failing to register a shot on target in the whole 45 minutes of the first-half.
The match went into the half-time break with the scoreline deadlocked at 0-0. The Tshwane-based side was more under pressure to collect maximum points to move out of the relegation zone.
In the second-half, the match continued to have limited goal-scoring opportunities with both teams lacking the creative spark to make inroads in the final third.
But Mohau Nkota scored the decisive goal in the 72nd minute to give Pirates a slender 1-0 victory over SuperSport United.
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