Orlando Pirates were made to sweat for their 1-0 victory over Polokwane City in the Betway Premiership with Nkosinathi Sibisi the difference at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The result saw them remain in second position on the log with 46 points in 20 matches narrowing the gap from Mamelodi Sundowns to 12 with three games in hand.
Meanwhile City remained in sixth place with 34 points in 24 games. Pirates missed a lot of chances after surviving an early scare from City after Bonginkosi Dlamini failed burry a ball from Oswin Appollis in the opening five minutes.
Relebohile Mofokeng was a thorn in the City defence but couldn’t convert two opportunities in the half one being an easy save for the goalkeeper inside 10 minutes another an open net just after the half hour mark.
The 20 year old also set-up Makhehleni Makhaula only for the latter to hit the side of the net in the 14th minute. There was also a chance for Thalente Mbatha to break the dock lock from range which was saved by Brian Okoth.
Five minutes to the break it was Rise and Shine in possession and Appollis’ came close to scoring but Sipho Chaine denied him by punching the ball out to leave the score 0-0 at halftime.
It took 10 minutes for some real action in the second stanza with the home side winning a corner kick. Appollis swung the ball towards Mokibelo Ramabu’s head in the box however the latter’s effort were denied.
The visitors won a set-piece in the 67th minute, substitute Kabelo Dlamini stepped up and found his captain Sibisi in the box and didn’t miss to get the all-important goal.
The Buccaneers will now shift their focus to their second leg CAF Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday against MC Alger – where they old a 1-0 advantage after the win in Algiers on Tuesday.
