Orlando Pirates marched to the second round of the Caf Champions League’s group stage qualifiers after beating Djabal Club d’Iconi 3-0 on Friday night to win the tie 4-0 on aggregate.
Zakhele Lepasa’s brace and Patrick Maswangayi’s goal handed the Pirates the win here in Orlando tonight, while the latter had scored the lone goal in the first leg in Comoros.
Pirates will meet with either Jwaneng Galaxy or Vipers in the second round in their bid to qualify for the group stage, but they’ll bank on this win to fuel them to do better than the class of 2013.
A decade ago, Pirates beat Djabal 9-0 on aggregate in the preliminary round of the group stage qualifiers to finish as the losing finalists to Al Ahly under coach Roger De Sa.
A lot might have happened since, but this Pirates’ team seems to have the firepower up front given that Lepasa has now scored eight goals in just six matches.
Granted Pirates came into this game with the advantage, but they knew that they couldn’t rest on their laurels against the Islanders who had tamed them until the 87th minute in Comoros.
And so, coach Jose Riveiro opted to start his on-form striker Lepasa who had come off the bench to score the winner with three minutes to stoppage in the reverse leg.
Lepasa wasn’t the only change in Pirates’ starting line-up, though, with Sipho Chaine returning between the sticks ahead of the experienced Richard Ofori.
Without a central defensive midfielder as Ndabayithethwa Ndlondlo and Fortune Makaringe started in the midfield, central defender Nkosinathi Sibisi was tasked with plugging the gap in the midfield at times.
And that attacking approach didn’t only look good on paper but on the field of play as Maswanganyi tested the waters with an explosive shot that flew past Mihissoni’s Anise’s goals.
Pirates continued to build on the momentum as their outfield players camped in Djabal’s half, with their little maestro Ndlondlo directing traffic.
Granted, Lepasa had Pirates’ first shot on target – an effort that was saved by Anise. But it was Ndlondlo who came the closest to breaking the deadlock.
Ndlondlo hit a powerful shot that came off the crossbar before Lepasa missed a sitter which was easy for him to score. instead of blasting the rebound into the stands with an empty net as his mercy.
But Lepasa proved that it’s not how many chances you miss but how many you score as it wasn’t long before he put his side in the driving seat with a glancing header after being set-up by Kabelo Dlamini.
Pirates’ anchorman Nlondlo continued to direct traffic, rotating the ball with ease to the delight of the handful 'Ghost' who braved the chilly weather conditions in Soweto.
It was an impressive performance from Ndlondlo that boiled over to the second half and somewhat proved to the masses that players of his kind – ball players – have space on the continent.
Africa is known to be a jungle, with physicality and aggression usually the approach. But Pirates had flipped the script as their exhibition of their carpet football against the Islanders paid off in some style.
☠️ FT | @orlandopirates 3 - 0 Djabal FC (AGG 4 - 0)
— Orlando Pirates (@orlandopirates) August 25, 2023
The Buccaneers march on to the next round of the #TotalEnergiesCAFCL after seeing off the Islanders.
⚫️⚪️🔴⭐️#MatchDay#OrlandoPirates#OnceAlways
Maswanganyi continued with his brilliant scoring form from pre-season, where he racked up three goals, as he finally got his Pirates’ campaign up and running.
On the edge of the box, the former SuperSport United picked his spot and unleashed a hard and low effort that beat a diving Anise in goal.
He wasn’t done as he assisted Lepasa’s brace with a defence splitting pass. And that’s how things ended as Pirates remain on course to go a step better than the impressive class of 2013.
IOL Sport