Pirates bolster Champions League knockout chances with solid win over Stade d'Abidjan

This match day 4 clash presented Orlando Pirates with a chance to increase their points tally to eight and the Sea Robbers responded positively to the assignment.

The Buccaneers bolstered their chances of breaking through to the knockout stages of the Champions League with a deserved 3-1 victory against their Ivorian visitors at the Orlando Stadium last night.

A first-half strike by Relebohile Mofokeng (22nd minute) and two more goals from Patrick Maswanganyi (50th) and Deon Hotto (85th) after the break saw Pirates surge to the summit of the group C to leapfrog Al Ahly. The Sea Robbers are a step away from securing their place in the next round of the Africa’s premier club competition.

Reigning champions Ahly lost 1-0 to Algeria’s CR Belouizdad on Friday night via a last-gasp goal by Naoufel Khacef at Stade du 5 Juillet on Friday night to open the door for Pirates ahead of their clash against the Ivorians.

The visitors, who held Pirates to a 1-1 stalemate in the first leg three week ago, arrived in Orlando on the back of a five-match unbeaten streak and needing nothing but a win to keep alive their slim chances of making further progress.

Mofokeng inflicted the first dent in their hopes when he rounded off a fluid forward foray into enemy territory characterised by an intricate exchange of passes which saw him tap in a Mohau Nkota lay-off into an open net, with Stade goalkeeper and skipper Drissa Bamba at sea.

After the break Maswanganyi doubled the deficit when he turned his marker inside out with sweet trickery before burying a low shot past Bamba.

The defeat under the Orlando floodlights condemned them to remain rooted at the bottom of the four-team table with a single point to their name. They tried to make a fight of it second stanza but their efforts were reduced to long-range shots which hardly troubled Pirates goalminder Sipho Chaine.

Though he will be pleased with the result, Pirates coach Jose Riveiro must demand a better conversion rate from his charges as they are likely to pay a heavy price against better-organised opposition in the latter stages of the tournament.

The damage could have been greater had the hosts been ruthless as plenty of chances went begging.

With the score goalless in the early stages, Pirates came close to profiting when Mofokeng let loose a left-footed shot but watched in agony as it narrowly missed the target.

Another effort from Kabelo Dlamini, a curling shot from outside the box, was directed straight at Bamba.

Mohau Nkota’s vicious shot followed the same script and later the youngster was a bit greedy when he went for goal when laying off a pass for two unmarked teammates seemed a better option.

Pirates will next play Belouizdad on January 12 at Orlando Stadium.