MATSHELANE MAMABOLO
ORLANDO PIRATES 0
STELLENBOSCH (1) 1
Titus 33
There will be no 'invincibles' or any team that comes close to completing the entire season unbeaten this time around, after the remaining perfect record of the 2024/25 Betway Premiership season was shattered at Orlando Stadium yesterday afternoon.
Stellenbosch FC killed the proverbial two birds with one stone with this hard-earned victory. Steve Barker's team ended Pirates' unbeaten run, while also earning sweet revenge for the controversial MTN8 final defeat they suffered against Jose Riveiro's team.
Barker could not hide his excitement as he met the final whistle with a massive fist pump and shout before walking over to hug Riveiro. It was a victory achieved against the run of play. Indeed, Stellies scored on the break via Devin Titus in the first half and then successfully fought a rearguard battle as Pirates put them under pressure throughout the match.
The Buccaneers almost equalised in the 65th minute when Dlamini saw his curled shot from the edge of the box ricochet against the crossbar, with Sage Stephens a beaten man in the Stellies goals. Tito Maswanganyi had done some great work to cut inside from the right and set his teammate up for that chance.
Late in the match, Nkoainathi Sibisi shot straight at Stephens from close range, and Relebohile Mofokeng shot over the bar as chances came thick and fast, but the execution let the home side down. Earlier, Evidence Makgopa failed to connect with a sweet ball that went across the face of goal from Mofokeng, and Thalente Mbatha then blasted the side netting from a promising position.
The Buccaneers went into the break trailing despite having been dominant and creating the most chances. Spotting just two changes — Innocent Maela and Monapule Saleng replaced by Mofokeng and Mohau Nkota — Pirates began the match at a frenetic pace, clearly looking to unsettle the visitors with an early goal.
However, Stephens pulled off a good save just before the quarter-hour mark to deny Deon Hot, who had been sent through by a fantastic long pass from Patrick Maswanganyi. The latter then crafted yet another scrumptious pass for Mofokeng, but the youngster shot inches wide. Stephens came to Stellies' rescue yet again on 32 minutes, this time pulling off a good block to keep Nkota's shot out.
Such is the nature of this game; when a team dominates but fails to score, they are often caught by a 'sucker punch'. And that's exactly what happened to Pirates on 33 minutes as Stellies caught them cold. Ashley Cupido won possession just inside his half and sent a long diagonal ball to find Titus unmarked on the left.
The youngster controlled the ball, set himself up, and easily beat the advanced Sipho Chaine for the opener that sent the previously vociferous Pirates faithful inside Orlando Stadium silent.
The goal did not deter Pirates from dominating and searching for an equaliser. They had two good chances, the first of which came three minutes before the break as they played intricate passes inside the Stellies box, but Sihle Ndluli intercepted the final ball and hoofed it away from danger.
Late in stoppage time, Sage Stephens incomprehensibly gifted the hosts an indirect free kick inside the six-yard box by handling a ball passed back to him by Ndluli. However, the Buccaneers squandered the opportunity — Mofokeng teed the ball up for a seemingly unexpecting Maswanganyi, who sent it over with his wrong (right) foot.
That miss was perhaps a clear sign that it was just not going to be Pirates' day as they forfeited the top spot on the table to defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns. The two teams are now tied on 21 points from eight matches, but Sundowns boast a better goal difference.