Orlando Pirates' Title Hopes Fade After Shock Defeat to Sekhukhune United

• Orlando Pirates stumble into yet another defeat as they lose to Sekhukhune United in the Betway Premiership on Wednesday evening
• The Soweto giants missed out on the opportunity to close in on Mamelodi Sundowns on the league table as they go 12 points behind the defending champions on the log
• The Sea Robbers were the better side among the two teams but the visitors did the most important thing by scoring the only goal of the match

Orlando Pirates failed to close in on Mamelodi Sundowns in the Betway Premiership title race as they lost to Sekhukhune United at the Orlando Stadium on Wednesday evening.

The Sea Robbers were nine points behind the Brazilians before this fixture, but a defeat to Babina Noko and the defending champions winning against Richards Bay means the Bucs are now 12 points behind the league leaders.

A second-half goal from Tresor Tshibwabwa gave Sekhukhune United the surprising win over the Soweto giants in front of their fans.

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This loss comes a few days after the Soweto-based club were knocked out of the CAF Champions League by Egyptian giants Pyramids FC.

Sekhukhune United hand Pirates another home defeat

Sekhukhune United started the game brightly and forced two early corners in the opening five minutes, but they failed to convert any of them.

Pirates had their first shot of the game in the 18th minute after Thalente Mbatha had a crack from long range, but his effort went wide.

Kabelo Dlamini forced a save out of Sekhukhune United's goalkeeper from a free-kick in the 32nd minute.

Babina Noko shot-stopper Leaner was tested again before the half-time whistle by Mbatha, but the South African international's effort was saved.

Pirates started the second half as the better side but were unable to find the back of the net early despite putting pressure on the visitors.

Despite early pressure from the Buccaneers, the visitors took the lead. In the 58th minute, Keletso Makgalwa stepped up to take a corner kick and sent the ball to Tshibwabwa, who made no mistake by heading the ball past Sipho Chaine in Pirates' goal.

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Sekhukhune United continued to put more pressure on Pirates after taking the lead, with Makgalwa and Rammala giving the home side a lot of problems.

In the 79th minute, the visitors could've been two goals up, but Chubuike Ohizu failed to convert his chance.

The game turned from bad to worse for Jose Riveiro's men as Bafana Bafana defender Nkosinathi Sibisi was sent off with minutes to go for his second booking of the match.

What's next for Orlando Pirates

Orlando Pirates' next match in the Betway Premiership will be against Kaizer Chiefs at the FNB Stadium.

The Sea Robbers will also face the Glamour Boys in the Nedbank Cup final a week later after they lock horns in the league.

FNB pitch crisis threatens Soweto derby match

Briefly News earlier reported that the Soweto derby is under threat of holding as the FNB Stadium is deem not in standard to hold games.

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The stadium's pit is reportedly in a bad state and could lead to the committee and the clubs reaching an agreement to change the venue or postpone the match,

Source: Briefly News