Mamelodi Sundowns’ Diski Team were punished by the clinical Orlando Pirates Reserves when they lost 1-5 in their backyard on Saturday morning at Tuks Stadium.
The hosts had control of their opening half, as they kept the ball in their opponents’ half and barely lost the ball as they tried to create clear-cut chances. The first time they came close to breaking the deadlock was when Siyabonga Mabena had delivered the ball to Bennet Mokoena from the left flank into the area. Pirates, however, managed to intercept the ball before Mokoena could find it.
The pairing of Mabena and Mokoena was working well for Downs as they continued to look for an opener and threatened the Buccaneers’ defence. Mabena had delivered the ball to Mokoena through a cross. From the edge of the box, unmarked, Mokoena fired a shot which was completely off target.
The visitors eventually found their feet and caused problems for the Downs rearguard. From range, they pulled a powerful shot, but the goalkeeper, Nqobani Biyelabucketed the effort. After a continuous effort to open the scoring, the hosts finally did. Mabena had offloaded the ball in the area from the left flank. Xavier Jodumas found the ball and directed it to the net.
In the closing stages of the opening half, the Sea Robbers had a corner kick opportunity where they came close to levelling matters. The header that received the ball from the corner was misguided, missing the target. This saw Masandawana heading into the break leading.
The second stanza was off to a frantic start with Pirates being the dominant side. They were able to dismantle the Downs defence just three minutes into the restart. They managed to slot in one to level matters, and a minute later, they snatched the lead. Biyela had managed to smack a shot on target away but a rebound saw them striking another shot to make it two goals.
Despite searching for a comeback, the young Brazilians were just not getting it right, with Pirates tightening their defence. Simphiwe Mlondo came so close to keeping his side in the game when he faced the goalkeeper alone. His shot was, however, not strong enough to bypass the keeper.
On the 58th minute, the visitors did it again and made it three, to extend their lead. Pirates looked comfortable, and they went on to score two more goals to put the final nail in the coffin. Despite trying to fight back, Masandawana just couldn’t turn over the result. They will look to get the rust off the green and forget about the result when they travel to Polokwane next weekend to face the Magesi FC Reserves.
How we lined up: Biyela ©, Sibande, Sithole, Seedat, Sibiya, Masisi, Moabelo, Kekana, Jodamus, Mabena, Mokoena.
Subs: Shabangu, Nkabinde, Mlondo, Mokoele, Gaseitsiwe.
