Despite being down to 10 men, Stellenbosch FC were able to hold out for a goalless draw against Orlando Pirates in their Betway Premiership match at the Athlone Stadium on Tuesday night.
It was a battle between second and third in the league — Steve Barker’s team looked to close the gap on Jose Riveiro’s charges, while Pirates were looking to make ground on league leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, who they will face on Sunday.
It was Pirates with arguably the brighter start, and Relebohile Mofokeng had the first attempt at goal in the ninth minute, but his shot was down the throat of Oscarine Masuluke.
Stellies were trying to bounce back after the disappointment of losing to Kaizer Chiefs in the Nedbank Cup on the weekend but struggled to hold onto possession in the early stages of the game, allowing Pirates opportunities to counter, with Mohau Nkota in particular getting behind the Stellenbosch defence and causing problems.
Tshegofatso Mabasa’s 28th-minute shot failed to trouble Masuluke.
Barker’s team suffered a major setback when they were reduced to ten men when Brian Onyango was shown a straight red card for being the last minute while committing a foul on Mabasa in the 35th minute. Kabelo Dlamini’s attempt from the free kick that followed rattled the crossbar.
At the break, though it remained goalless.
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With the man advantage, Pirates continued to look for the breakthrough after halftime, going close in the 55th minute, with Nkosinathi Sibisi’s effort blocked at close range.
Chances though were few, as Stellies looked to hold out Pirates. Patrick Maswanganyi, who came off the bench, saw his effort deflected behind in the 72nd minute, while four minutes later Masuluke saved another attempt from Mofokeng.
Mabasa had the ball in the back of the net in the 78th minute, heading in Nkota’s cross, but the Pirates striker was in an offside position. Two minutes later, Godswill Kazie fired in a powerful long-range shot at the other end as Stellies got a rare second-half chance, but Sipho Chaine was able to parry it to safety.
And so it ended with a share of the spoils, as Pirates remain 18 points behind leaders Sundowns, with four games in hand, with Stellies a further eight points behind Pirates.
