Orlando Pirates maintained their perfect win record in the Betway Premiership with a 2-1 victory over AmaZulu at Orlando Stadium on Friday.
It was another fruitful league outing for the home side, who earned three more points to take their tally to 15 after five games played in the 2024/25 campaign.
The victory helped them reclaim top spot ahead of the rest of the weekend’s top flight action. Having retained the same eleven that won against SuperSport United in midweek, Pirates faced a different challenge in an Usuthu side still chasing their first league points of the season.
They had to contend with a long toil for opportunities during the opening period while the opposition made a few threatening strides into their territory. Patrick Maswanganyi’s wide attempt from range was all the Buccaneers had to show for their early efforts.
At the other end of the pitch, the visitors had some promising moments of their own but were kept at bay with Thabiso Sesane and Deon Hotto both making vital clearances inside the first quarter.
It would take something special for either side to grab hold of the game and that moment was provided by Bucs teen sensation Mohau Nkota who produced a left-footed stunner from a long way out in the 31st minute, beating Usuthu keeper Richard Ofori at his near post.
That put the hosts ahead and they immediately set out to increase the lead. The teenager got on the end of the next opportunity just seconds later as he got on the end of a pass from Maswanganyi.
However, he could only fire off target this time around and he miscued his shot.It did not take long for Nkota to make amends for his earlier miss, as he doubled his tally five minutes after bagging his first senior goal.
His second came following some neat work from Mofokeng, who unselfishly knocked one into the direction of his fellow Academy product with the youngster making no mistake as he calmly slotted home to make it 2-0.
The teenager remained relentless, almost completing his hat-trick three minutes after his second goal as he rattled the crossbar after combining with Mofokeng once more. Sesane meanwhile had to cut off another attack late in the second half, with Usuthu looking up half the deficit on the stroke of halftime.
Despite enjoying a comfortable lead, the home side kept searching for another goal early in the second half and had several opportunities to make it 3-0.
The first few were created by Mofokeng who linked up with Nkota and Maswanganyi, with neither player managing to find the net.
Nkota went inches wide with his effort in the 67th minute and had another attempt blockedby ex-Bucs defender Abbubaker Mobara just moments later. This was followed up by an opportunity for striker Tshegofatso Mabasa, who was denied by Ofori seconds after coming on as a substitute.
Another Pirates replacement almost made an immediate impact, as Ndabayithethwa Ndlondlo had his shot from inside the box tipped over the crossbar by the Ghanaian shot-stopper.
Pirates maintained control heading into the closing moments until they were stunned deep in injury time by Hendrick Ekstein, who pulled one back against the run of play.
This set up an interesting last few seconds of the contest, but Bucs keeper Sipho Chaine had a final say deep in injury time as he produced a crucial save to keep the hosts in front.
The final whistle sounded moments later, as Nkota’s first-half brace secured another three points for the Buccaneers.
