10 man Maritzburg United held down on their home front against poor Soweto giant, Orlando Pirates to a barren draw at the Harry Gwala Stadium on Wednesday night.
Pirates have continued with their poor run in the season, as they were unable to close up the gap on the league table, which was extended by the brazilian, Mamelodi Sundown after snatching a goal victory away from home to Golden Arrows.
The result not only followed two consecutive losses for United in the DStv Premiership, but also came despite Pirates’ great dominance of the proceedings and despite the home team having to play the last quarter of the match with 10 men.
This morale-boosting outcome for United contained a sizeable contribution from goalkeeper Marcel Engelhardt, who had looked shaky in those defeats to SuperSport United in Pretoria and Royal AM in Durban prior to Wednesday’s fixture in Round 7.
Highlights: Maritzburg vs Orlando Pirates
Orlando Pirates’ winless run stretched to four games across all competitions after playing out to a goalless draw against 10-man Maritzburg United at Harry Gwala Stadium yesterday.
The Buccaneers last won against Chippa United last month. Yesterday’s stalemate was their fourth in the Dstv Premiership this season. Just seven minutes post the hour-mark, the hosts were reduced to 10 men when referee Abongile Tom issued a straight red card to Brandon Theron for hacking down Thabang Monare.
A minute after the red card, Pirates introduced Diski Challenge graduate Simiso Bophela, 21, to make his senior debut, replacing Bandile Shandu. The tempo was higher in the second half than in the first, but the sense of urgency both teams played with resulted to poor decision-making as composure was hardly shown from both ends.
Pirates introduced a few fringe players such as Bongani Sam and Linda Mntambo in their XI.
On the other hand, Maritzburg deployed their familiar line-up with Frenchman Amadou Soukouna and Bafana Bafana star Bongokuhle Hlongwane operating as twin strikers.
The first stanza was evenly-balanced in terms of ball retention but Pirates created more chances. Paseka Mako and Sam were Bucs’ best players in the half, combining brilliantly on the left flank.
Sam whipped in numerous enterprising crosses but, in most cases, Maritzburg keeper Marcel Engelhardt was untroubled, thanks to his height. Mntambo and Terrence Dzvukamanja squandered Pirates’ best chances of the first period
At the other end, Lefa Hlongwane made Maritzburg tick, using his skill to slice through Pirates’ right side, where Shandu operated, with centre-back Olisa Ndah also drifting out of his slot at the heart of defence to help him contain the speedy Hlongwane.
Pirates’ concentration has to immediately switch to the CAF Confederation Cup, where they host Congolese outfit Diables Noirs in the second leg of the tournament’s second preliminary round at Orlando Stadium on Sunday (5.30pm).
Meanwhile, the Team of Choice host struggling TS Galaxy in another league encounter at the same venue on Saturday (3.30pm).