Orlando Pirates ensured a winning finish to their Spanish voyage when they netted twice in the dying minutes of their Friendly match against Granada to walk off 2-0 victors on Saturday.
It was a welcome victory for the Soweto Giants whose stay at the Marbella Football Centre consisted of three other training matches. They were yet to emerge on the winning side when they once again encountered the Andalusian outfit, whom they had faced in their preparations for the 2024/25 campaign.
Despite a tinge of familiarity between the two sets of players following their previous encounter – which finished in a one-all stalemate – things were a lot more tentative at the start this time around with the first quarter of the contest quickly descending into a stop-start affair. Chances at goal remained at a minimum throughout, while the first clear opportunity for Pirates only arrived in the 24th minute through the unlikely figure of Mbekezeli Mbokazi who skewed his effort wide after sustained pressure from his side.
A more familiar name up front in Boitumelo Radiopane got on the end of the next chance sparked up by the Buccaneers as he looked to nod in from close range after meeting a chipped pass from Sinoxolo Kwayiba. The striker’s header however lacked the necessary power to creep over the line with the Spaniards largely untroubled in dealing with the threat.
Mbokazi, who was utilised at left-back, was again active on attack as the halfway whistle approached and could have provided the opener had excitement not gotten the better of him with only goalkeeper Luca Zidane to beat. The defender was played in space down the middle by Karim Kimvuidi but did not capitalise as he miscued his attempt at goal.
Pirates survived a nervy last few moments before the break as Sipho Chaine made a crucial save to keep things level. He was again present during a testing start to the second period where Red and White shirts swarmed the Bucs penalty area in search of the opener.
The other end of the pitch was not short of exciting moments with the Buccaneers also pushing for the opener. They came close through Relebohile Mofokeng, who missed with his first real opportunity when he linked up with Patrick Maswanganyi in the 56th minute.
The duo remained in the thick of the action along with replacement striker Yanela Mbuthuma as the Soweto Giants regularly surged forward without finding the decisive touch inside the box. It was Granada who nearly found an opener against the run of play as teenage winger Samu Cortés threatened down the left, where Deano van Rooyen proved equal to the task in providing a crucial touch to turn the ball away from his goal.
The Red and Whites went even closer to edging ahead in the 78th minute when only the crossbar kept things level with goalkeeper Siyabonga Dladla well beaten following a powerful shot from the right.
The Buccaneers immediately looked to direct play back inside opposition territory, and were immediately rewarded with the breakthrough. It came through Maswanganyi who was positioned perfectly inside the box before picking his spot in the back of the net, making it 1-0 with less than 10 minutes remaining.
The goal seemed to spur Pirates on as they piled the pressure on their opponents in the dying stages. They doubled their advantage on the 90-minute mark when the ball was worked towards Mofokeng who was his usual calm self in front of goal as he eliminated the keeper before firing into an empty net to give his side some breathing space with seconds remaining.
Whatever threat the Spaniards could have posed required a little more time than what was available as the Buccaneers comfortably saw the game off, bagging their first win on tour while remaining unbeaten in their last three pre-season fixtures. They are set to make their way back to South Africa, where they will continue their fine-tuning before kicking off the 2025/26 season scheduled to kick off with the defence of their MTN8 title at home to Polokwane City.
Pirates XI: Chaine (Dladla 61’), Xoki (Sibisi 46’), Seema (Ndlozi 46’), Mashiloane (Van Rooyen 46’), Mbokazi (Ndaba 46’), Selepe (Nduli 46’), Mbule (Dlamini 46’), Kwayiba (Dansin 46’), Moremi (Mofokeng 46’), Kimvuidi (Maswanganyi 46’), Radiopane (Mbuthuma 46’).
