FILE - Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro celebrated his 100th match in charge of the team with a 1-0 win over Richards Bay. FILE - Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro celebrated his 100th match in charge of the team with a 1-0 win over Richards Bay. Picture: Itumeleng English / Independent Newspaper.
It was a night celebrating milestones and a club record for Orlando Pirates after beating Richards Bay 1-0 in their Betway Premiership match at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto on Tuesday night.
With the win, Pirates won a club record seventh consecutive league match this season, breaking their previous record of six in a row. Pirates managed six wins in a row on six occasions in their history in the Premier Soccer League era, with coach Jose Riveiro doing it twice - once in 2023.
But now Riveiro stands alone with seven wins on the trot, as they kept their 100% start to the new league campaign going thanks to a first-half tap-in by striker Evidence Makgopa.
The win over Richards Bay was also Riveiro’s 100th match in charge of the Buccaneers, who now look like proper title contenders. Pirates extended their lead at the top of the standings to 21 points, six ahead of Mamelodi Sundowns, who have played one game less.
Sundowns are in action on Wednesday in the league when they take on Polokwane City at home.
Evidence Makgopa ☠️💥
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) November 5, 2024
Pirates open the scoring at Orlando Stadium 👇
📺 Stream #BetwayPrem live: https://t.co/B0jLrQW5cc@Betway_za pic.twitter.com/AWtrEfLL8M
Pirates, who also beat Richards Bay 1-0 in September in their first league meeting, didn’t really have to get out of third gear against against the KwaZulu-Natal side, who looked like a team that have one eye on their Carling Knockout Cup semi-final this weekend.
Richards Bay take on Magesi FC in one of the biggest games in their history on Saturday. Sundowns take on Marumo Gallants in the other semi-final on Sunday.
Makgopa also joined Sundowns’ Lucas Ribeiro Costa at the top of the goal-scorers’ list with his fourth strike of the season, after pouncing on Richards Bay goalkeeper Ian Otieno’s mistake.
Otieno fumbled a rather tame long-range shot in the path of Makgopa, who reacted quickly to steer the ball home.
@JohnGoliath82