Pirates bounce back from MTN8 loss, keep pace with Sundowns with Galaxy win

Orlando Pirates secured a dominant 3-0 Betway Premiership win over TS Galaxy at Orlando Stadium on Tuesday night as they moved away from the disappointment of losing Saturday’s MTN8 final to Mamelodi Sundowns.

Tuesday night’s important home win leaves the Buccaneers in second spot on the log standings, where they trail leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, 4-1 winners on Tuesday over Richards Bay FC in Durban, by a point but have a game in hand.

The three points were secured from goals in the first half by Boitumelo Radiopane (18th minute) and two after the break from substitute attacker Tshepang Moremi (50th) and exciting young midfielder Simphiwe Masilela (76th), who continues to impress whenever he gets an opportunity.

Galaxy — who were coached by Essau Mtsweni in the absence of former coach Bernard Parker, who has been absent from the bench while dealing with personal issues — have a mountain to climb to revive their campaign they have gone four games without a league win.

This also means Pirates have won their last six league matches, a spell in which they did not concede a goal, is another mark set by goalkeeper Sipho Chaine.

Galaxy created the most notable scoring chances of the opening 15 minutes but attackers Victor Letsoalo, Sedwyn George and Junior Zindoga could not find the target.

Pirates opened the scoring when Radiopane put the ball in the back of net after receiving a pass from Appollis, who benefited from a miscalculation by Galaxy goalkeeper Tape Ira.

Moments later, Galaxy responded with attack of their own but alert Chaine moved off his line to clear the ball to safety after his defence was opened up.

Pirates got the second half off to a good start when Moremi increased their lead with a close-range shot that gave Ire no chance.

However, Bucs suffered a blow minutes later when Appollis was stretchered off the field. Coach Abdeslam Ouaddou would be hoping the injury is not serious as Pirates’ schedule intensifies with matches in the league, Carling Knockout and the Champions League over the coming weeks.

Pirates put the match beyond doubt when Masilela was on the end of a devastating attacking move that sliced through the Galaxy defence.

TimesLIVE