Hitherto winless Cape Town Spurs were on cloud nine on Wednesday evening when they claimed their first DStv Premiership win of their season by defeating Orlando Pirates 2-1 at the Cape Town Stadium.
It has taken Spurs, who were promoted from the First Division ranks to the Premiership at the end of last season, nine matches before they scored their first Premiership points this season. Before this match, Spurs suffered eight consecutive defeats.
After the departure of coach Shaun Bartlett, Spurs opted to proceed with an interim coach in Northern Irishman Sean Connor, the club's technical director. It was only his second match at the helm.
Straight from the opening whistle, Spurs showed an unwavering determination to deny their formidable opponents space by chasing down every ball. As a result, Pirates were thrown out of their stride, and they were frequently turned over at they tried to mount attacks from deep options.
One such early Pirates effort broke down on their left flank midway in their half and Spurs responded with a fortuitous kick into the opposition goalmouth which was allowed to bounce plumb in front of goal.
Spurs' Namibian debutant Lubeni Haukongo pounced on the stray ball and slipped the ball past the diving Pirates keeper Melusi Buthelezi to score the first of three first-half goals.
After this setback, Pirates managed to wrest the midfield initiative and they staged a few attacking sorties deep into Spurs' half, but they frequently lost their way in the final third.
On the half-hour mark, Spurs shocked all and sundry when they scored again through Jarrod Moroole, who beat the offside trap. Buthelezi parried Moroole's parting shot but the striker netted when the rebound fell at his feet (2-0).
This was the first time this season that Spurs had scored two goals in a match. It was also the first time that Pirates conceded two first-half goals this season.
Moments after running up the 2-0 lead, Spurs striker Ashley Cupido had a chance to make it 3-0, but he fluffed his effort in a one-on-one face-off with keeper Buthelezi.
Towards the end of the first half, Pirates' pressure finally took its toll when Spurs' defence leaked a goal. Striker Evidence Makgopa headed home from point-blank range as the opposition defence failed to deal with an aerial threat.
As the second half wore on, Pirates started dominating more than ever, and by the hour mark, were enjoying a mammoth 70% possession advantage. Their pressure saw them 9-2 ahead in the corner count.
Spurs' defence managed to protect their 2-1 lead until the end and nervously managed to stave off one threatening attack after the other in the final minutes of the match.
IOL Sport