By Michael Madyira
Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs’ quest for a top-two position suffered blows when they failed to win their respective Premier Soccer League matches on Saturday.
The Buccaneers endured an unsuccessful trip to Limpopo where they were beaten 2-1 by Sekhukhune United at Peter Mokaba Stadium.
Goals in either half by Vusumuzi Mncube and Linda Mntambo gave Babina Noko an advantage over Pirates who had Tshegofatso Mabasa grabbing their consolation.
It was a result which saw the Soweto giants slide two rungs down into fourth position in what was a setback to their top-two bid.
For Sekhukhune, it was five successive PSL victories for the first time ever, catapulting them three places up the ladder into third place.
At Athlone Stadium, Kaizer Chiefs’ season got more complicated following a 0-0 draw with Cape Town City.
It was a difficult afternoon for Amakhosi whose blunt forwards fired blanks as they survived a few scary moments from their hosts.
Coach Cavin Johnson might regret handing rookie forward Wandile Duba the huge responsibility of leading their attack against an experienced City defence while benching Christian Saile Basomboli and Ranga Chivaviro.
The draw left Chiefs stuck in seventh position as the Citizens remained fifth to extend their winless run to five matches.
Meanwhile, Stellenbosch removed Pirates from position two following a 3-0 victory over Royal AM.
Devin Titus opened the scoring for Stellenbosch in the 26th minute before Royal AM’s Siphesihle Msomi scored an own goal seven minutes before halftime.
Iqraam Rayners then wrapped up victory for the Cape Winelands outfit on 56 minutes to help his side extend their unbeaten league streak to 12 games.
Stellenbosch now have 11 points fewer than leaders Mamelodi Sundowns who have three games in hand.
Elsewhere, at Mpumalanga Stadium, Golden Arrows made it two wins in a row and remained in position eight after edging relegation-threatened Richards Bay 2-1
Nduduzo Sibiya and Olwethu Ncube scored for Arrows while Somila Ntsundwana was on target for Richards Bay.
AmaZulu’s woes worsened, taking their winless run in the league to five matches after falling down 2-0 to TS Galaxy at Mbombela Stadium.
Second-half goals from Thato Khiba and Samir Nurjkovic carried the day for the Rockets who are now ninth on the standings.
Pictured above: Sekhukhune United captain Linda Mntambo walking behind Orlando Pirates defender Olisa Ndah
Image source: Sekhukhune United
