Orlando Pirates (1) 3
Mofokeng 14 Maswanganyi 50 Hotto 84
Stade Abidjan 0
THEY are top of the table; set for the quarter-finals and the dream of a second star lives on.
Of course, a lot can still happen in the remaining two matches of the CAF Champions League group stages, but the Buccaneers are masters of their destiny now.
Beat CR Belouizdad next Saturday and they will progress to the knockout stage of the continent’s premier club knockout no matter the result of their final group match against Al Ahly the weekend thereafter.
It is exactly what Pirates would want – to make the trip up to Cairo with qualification for the last eight already secured. And they went a long way towards ensuring that with this victory over Stade Abidjan at Orlando Stadium early Saturday evening.
☠️ FT | @orlandopirates 3- 0 @Stadedabidjan
The Buccaneers climb to the summit in Group C after a clinical performance!
⚫️⚪️🔴⭐️#MatchDay#TotalEnergiesCAFCL #OrlandoPirates #OnceAlways pic.twitter.com/lvuAVAe7Hn
Al Ahly’s shock last minute defeat on Friday by a Belouizdad side they’d smashed 6-1 on Matchday 3, left the group wide open – but more importantly gifted Pirates the opportunity to take control of Group C.
They showed they were intent on doing just that as they started the match on the front foot and hardly allowed the Ivorians a sniff of Sipho Chaine’s goals in the first half.
And when they scored, they did so with the swagger we’ve come to expect of this exciting Pirates side that was backed by a sizeable crowd of their supporters who are fast turning the Orlando east arena into a cauldron visiting teams would rather avoid.
Relebohile Mofokeng slotted home arguably the easiest goal of his young career, the 20-year-old literally passing the ball into an open net after his teammates had strung passes as beautifully as a an artist weaves a beaded necklaces – Pirates piercing the Stade defence open with consummate ease.
If the first goal illustrated the Buccaneers’ brilliance as a team, the second showcased the individual artistry that the club is blessed with.
Patrick Maswanganyi has received criticism from many quarters for what they believe is sometimes unnecessary dribbling.
Whether that is warranted or not requires a different article. This time around, the player The Ghost call Tito showed that his silky skills can be of great benefit to the team as he executed a swift pirouette that saw him extricate himself from two markers to get into a position from which he smashed the ball low and hard past the goalkeeper and into the goals at the far post.
It was beautiful and Orlando Stadium responded with song and dance to celebrate a player they love dearly.
With that goal coming as early as it did in the second half, there was now a guarantee that there would be none of the disappointment from the previous match out in Abidjan where Pirates failed to make their dominance of possession count into more goals and allowed their adversaries to equalise.
Pirates are top of the table now and seemingly set for the quarter-finals.
It’s misses that will be forgiven because the objective of securing the three points was achieved and Pirates went top of Group C on eight points ahead of Ahly who have seven and Belouizdad another point behind
The dream of a second triumph in the continent’s premier club knockout competition lives on for Orlando Pirates.