The loan of midfielder Goodman Mosele to Chippa United came back to haunt Orlando Pirates as the Bucs were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw against the Chilli Boys at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Tuesday. Mosele struck midway through the second half to cancel out a first half opener from Bandile Shandu, ending an excellent two-match spell of form for Pirates. The Soweto side now have four points from three matches while Chippa earn their third consecutive draw to begin the campaign.
Hosts Chippa posed little threat in the first half and it seemed that Pirates would continue the dazzling form that saw them dismantle Royal AM and Sekhukhune United by a combined 9-2 score. In the 24th minute Monnapule Saleng set up youngster Relebohile Mofokeng for a hard cross from the right flank and Shandu slid in to apply the finishing touch past Chippa goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali.
However the Bucs failed to convert their early dominance into an unassailable lead. After the halftime break the hosts did well to hang around and despite the continuation of their attacking struggles, Chippa managed to find an equalizer in the 65th minute. Mosele collected a throw-in from the right touch line and produced a clean strike from a difficult angle that skipped past Pirates keeper Sipho Chaine. The first goal of the league season was enough for the Chilli Boys to snatch a point.
Highlights are below.
