Orlando Pirates were made to toil hard before earning a hard-fought 1-0 win over Spanish outfit Las Palmas when the two sides renewed rivalries in a pre-season friendly played at the Marbella Football Center on Wednesday night.
It was a case of third time lucky for the Soweto Giants, who had been held to goalless stalemates in each of their two previous meetings with the team from the Canary Islands. The win also brought them back to winning ways following their result 24 hours earlier, bringing their win tally in the ongoing tour to two in four matches.
A much-changed Bucs outfit took to the field in Marbella as they crossed paths with Los Amarillos for the third time in four years. Both teams adopted a measured start, with neither side intent on taking early risks.
Chances were few and far between throughout the opening quarter as a result, with Bucs striker Yanela Mbuthuma easily denied with his sixth-minute effort before Los Amarillos’ midfielder Manu Fuster went comfortably wide with a shot at the other end.
With minimal goal-scoring opportunities characterising the opening exchanges, Pirates made consistent surges upfield. They were kept at bay by a stubborn defence, but were able to spark a promising finish to the first half when they began to hit their stride.
This was when Ghampani Lungu got on the end of a lovely cross from Neo Rapoo in the 35th minute but his effort from the right landed on the side netting. His attempt was followed by one of Cemran Dansin, who was played through by Mpho Padime before drawing a save from goalkeeper Jose Antonio Caro.
Daniel Msendami nearly came through with the breakthrough moments away from the halftime whistle when his shot from just outside the penalty area was kept out by the woodwork with the keeper well beaten.
Following a high-octane finish to the first half, the start of the second half was a lot more subdued. It took until the 58th minute for the game’s next opportunity, which came through a set piece taken by Las Palmas Enrique Clemente, who went nowhere near the target with his effort from a set piece.
Following some changes around the hour-mark, Pirates wrestled back the initiative and could have taken the lead when Msendami looked to chip the keeper, but landed the ball narrowly off target.
They continued to trouble the men in yellow well into the game’s dying moments, but were nearly stunned by a late strike against the run of play when Japanese winger Taisei Miyashiro rattled the woodwork from the edge of the penalty area.
The near miss sprung the Buccaneers back into action, and they got just reward for their efforts with only five minutes left on the clock when Lungu played a neat through ball for replacement striker Boitumelo Radiopane, who only needed a single touch from a fair distance out to turn the ball past the keeper for his second goal of the tour.
Las Palmas, however, refused to go down quietly, launching another attack at the Bucs’ goal with the woodwork coming to the rescue once more. They pushed relentlessly, but Pirates held firm in defending their lead, eventually emerging with a hard-fought win in the penultimate fixture of their Spanish tour.
They conclude their stay on the coast with one final fixture, taking place on Friday against Saudi outfit NEOM.
Pirates XI: Dladla (Monyepao 70’), Zulu (Derbyshire 61’), Chabatsane (Xoki 61’), Lungu, Mthiyane (Mariko 61’), Mmolai (De Jong 46’), Dansin, Padime (Masilela 61’), Msendami, Mbuthuma (Radiopane 61’).
