Orlando Pirates fought from a goal down to force a 1-1 draw in their pre-season clash against Spanish outfit Córdoba at the Marbella Football Centre on Wednesday night.
The Segunda Division outfit offered a welcome early examination for the Buccaneers, with the match unfolding into a fiercely contested affair in the sweltering Marbella heat.
On their return to the Spanish coast, the Buccaneers sported a new-look starting eleven and initially found the going tough with the Spaniards enjoying a dominant spell early on. Forward Eder Garcia had a couple of goal attempts but failed to trouble Bucs keeper Siyabonga Dladla, who was the busier of the two starting shot stoppers during the opening exchanges.
Pirates had to wait until the 19th minute to find their first shot at goal, and it was a deflected effort from the boot of Patrick Maswanganyi. They had a promising moment on the half-hour mark when they turned possession over just outside the Córdoba penalty area, but the opportunity was spurned as Abdoulaye Mariko scuffed his shot.
The Spaniards maintained their tempo towards the latter stages of the first period, matched by the South African champions whose combinations were gradually gelling as the clock ticked on. Neither side could find the net however, with the halftime whistle sounding with the score still deadlocked at 0-0.
Córdoba brought on wholesale changes after the break while Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou only made minor tweaks to his playing personnel initially, bringing on new signings Bohlale Ngwato and Neo Rapoo in place of Mpho Padime and Nkosikhona Ndaba, respectively.
It was the Buccaneers who had the brighter start to the second half, pinning The Caliphs back and winning a succession of set pieces. The Andalusian outfit did manage to find its own rhythm and made it count following further movement from the Bucs bench around the hour mark.
They found the opener through teenage attacker Javi Antras, whose powerful shot from close range left replacement keeper Sipho Chaine no chance as it crashed into the net.
The Soweto Giants however did not trail for long, and were level through some relentless pressing from striker Boitumelo Radiopane, who placed immense pressure on goalkeeper Iker Alvarez before turning possession over and slotting home the equaliser in the 75th minute.
The turnaround was almost complete just moments later with Cemran Dansin denied from the goal line when he pounced on a loose ball from the edge of the box. There was also a threat at the other end, but Chaine read the move well as he left his goal line to cut out the danger.
It turned out to be the last piece of goalmouth action with the final whistle eventually sounding to put an end to a fierce encounter in Malaga.
Pirates XI: Dladla (Chaine 62’), Chabatsane (Derbyshire 62’), Zulu (Xoki 62’), Van Rooyen (Sebelebele 62’), Ndaba (Rapoo 46’), Selepe (Mthiyane 62’), Mariko (Masilela 62’), Maswanganyi (Dansin 62’), Padime (Ngwato 46’), Lungu (Moremi 62’), Mbuthuma (Radiopane 62’).
