The three points earned on the night pulled the Soweto Giants out of unwanted territory in the bottom three of the standings, bringing them up within a point of the top eight. They avoided an unprecedented third straight defeat at the start of the league campaign in what was their first midweek outing at Orlando Stadium in the new season. 

Having failed to open their account on two attempts prior to their clash with Stellies, the Buccaneers were quick to dominate proceedings in search of their first league points. Oswin Appollis struck the upright four minutes into his return to the starting line up when he was played through by Relebohile Mofokeng, with the duo combining well on the left flank.

They continued to pull the strings during the early exchanges, with Mofokeng and Deon Hotto both proving to be a menace in the attacking third. Neither could find the opener however, as the visitors’ defence proved equal to the task in the opening exchanges.

The resistance did not last for much longer as Kamogelo Sebelebele quickly made it two goals in as many starts in Bucs colours. The winger was heavily involved in a swift move upfield, initiating then finishing the attack with a cracking right-footed strike that went beyond the reach of a diving Sage Stephens to make it 1-0 with just 15 minutes played.

He could have been joined on the scoresheet by another recent signing in Sihle Nduli who nearly struck his first Bucs goal against his former side in the 23rd minute. The midfielder found himself in space just outside the penalty area and managed to draw a save from Stephens with a well-struck shot.

His effort was followed by one from a similar range by Sipho Mbule – brought in halfway through the first half to replace the injured Deano van Rooyen –  with striker Evidence Makgopa following suit with a shot that landed off target as Pirates continued to dominate proceedings at home.

More attempts late in the first half failed to yield another strike for the home side, who went wide through Mofokeng before Thalente Mbatha was denied by Stephens three minutes from the break.

The Buccaneers took a slim lead into the second half, and quickly went about attempting to double their advantage with another early blitz which consisted of shots from Hotto, Mbule and Mofokeng inside the opening 10 minutes of the second period.

Chances at goal were mainly concentrated at one end throughout the game’s opening hour, as Sebelebele had a chance to increase his tally around the half-hour mark, but only managed to fire inches wide with his left foot. Bucs keeper Sipho Chaine had to wait until the last half hour of the contest to make a real save, and he did so denying Langelihle Phili whose heavy first touch resulted in a fairly-comfortable stop for the shot-stopper.

An attempt from Khomotjo Lokoloane demanded more of Chaine in the 73rd minute, and he was again equal to the task. That turned out to be the last real attempt for the visitors, with the Buccaneers continuing to spark some bright moments at the other end, where replacement winger Tshepang Moremi and Mofokeng both had some close calls without really troubling Stephens.

The Bucs defence stood up well to a late onslaught by the men from the Cape Winelands, who desperately sought an equaliser in injury time. Their determined team effort pulled through in the end as they held on to their slim lead to walk off with all three points on offer, ending their four-match winless run in league matches against The Maroons.

Pirates XI: Chaine, Seema, Mbokazi, Van Rooyen (Mbule 20’), Hotto, Nduli, Mbatha (Dlamini 63’), Sebelebele, Mofokeng, Appollis (Moremi 81’), Makgopa (Mabasa 63’).

In what has been a busy start to the season, the Buccaneers take to the field for the fifth time in a little over three weeks as they look to get off the mark under the points column in the Premiership.

They are up against a Stellies side that has been just as engaged early on in the campaign as the two lock horns in a crucial tussle for a much-needed three points at both ends.

The two sides are set to clash after landing in the bottom half of the table, some distance away from their usual residence in the standings. They have both been active in cup competition, where they have registered far better results than what they have so far managed in the league.

The Opposition

Stellenbosch come off a confidence-boosting cup win over the weekend after grabbing the driving seat in their two-legged MTN8 semifinal tie against Sekhukhune United with a 2-0 win at Danie Craven Stadium. This is after advancing to the last four through a hard-fought 3-2 victory at home to AmaZulu.

They are set to embark on their second away league outing in as many matches, having kicked their Premiership campaign with a home defeat to the Buccaneers’ Soweto rivals Kaizer Chiefs. Stellies registered their first league point last Wednesday away to Magesi when Langelihle Phili’s 19th minute opener was cancelled out eight minutes later by Kgomotso Mosadi with the two sides eventually settling for a one-all draw in Sheshego.

They have rotated their squad throughout the campaign, with the vast majority of their playing personnel at least featuring on the bench in the lead-up to their trip to Soweto. Out of the confirmed squad members, only reserve goalkeeper Dublin Boon is yet to make the match-day squad in the four games played, while the likes of Simthandile Shishi and Vuyolwethu Andreas are also yet to debut despite featuring as unused subs in the MTN8.

They could be considered by coach Steve Barker ahead of Wednesday’s fixture, which is the first of two crucial outings facing the men from the Cape Winelands in the current week.

Bucs Team News

Pirates meanwhile return to the Premiership desperate for points after dropping to 14th place in the standings following back-to-back defeats to kick off the season. They lost 1-0 at home to Sekhukhune United in their season opener before another defeat on their visit to Marumo Gallants, who overturned a one-goal deficit to register a 2-1 win at Dr Molemela Stadium last Tuesday.

Their two other games have been in the MTN8, where they eased past Polokwane City in the quarterfinals before fighting back to secure a 1-1 draw via a late Kamogelo Sebelebele strike in their home leg of their semifinal clash against Mamelodi Sundowns last Saturday.

The two cup fixtures are the only games where they have avoided defeat so far in the season and they will host Stellenbosch hoping that their encouraging performance from Saturday signals a quick turnaround in fortunes as they aim to steer themselves towards more familiar territory in the top half of the standings. That can only be achieved by registering their first league points of the season on Wednesday night.

The Soweto Giants have the personnel capable enough to do so, as demonstrated by the likes of Sihle Nduli and Lebone Seema, who have stepped up amid injuries to cult heroes such as Nkosinathi Sibisi and Makhehleni Makhaula, while the players such as Thabiso Sesane and Selaelo Rasebotja also continue to recover after suffering knocks during the latter half of the previous campaign.

Head-to-Head

In what is still a relatively new rivalry, which kicked off in the 2019/20 campaign, matches between Orlando Pirates and Stellenbosch have not lacked the fireworks normally associated with age-old rivals. Wednesday night’s encounter will be the 13th meeting between the two sides since Stellies’ ascent into the topflight.

The Buccaneers are one victory short of the Maroons’ tally of four wins during this period, having gone two seasons without registering a victory. They have only managed one point out of a possible 12 in this period, and it came through their most recent trip to Danie Craven Stadium, where the game finished in a goalless draw. 

The last time Pirates were victorious in the fixture, they netted two goals in each half before conceding a late consolation goal for a convincing 4-1 win at Orlando Stadium back in January 2023. They have managed two cup wins over Stellies since then, with league victories eluding them for well over two years.

TV Coverage and Ticket Info

The fixture kicks off at 19:30 with live coverage on SuperSport PSL. Orlando Pirates will provide live updates across the club’s social media channels.

Tickets to attend the match are available for purchase on OpenTickets.