Keagan Buchanan of Cape Town Spurs raises his hands after his team beat Orlando Pirates 2-1 during the DStv Premiership match between Cape Town Spurs and Orlando Pirates at DHL Stadium on November 01, 2023 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Roger Sedres/Gallo Images)

• Cape Town Spurs triumphed 2-1 over Orlando Pirates, their first win of the season, securing vital points.
• Lubeni Haukongo’s early goal proved to be a gift as Spurs held off Pirates’ efforts.
• This win moved Spurs closer to escaping the bottom of the table, while Pirates remained in 13th place.
• For more sports news, go to the News24 Sport front page.

Scoring a goal as early as the second minute in a football game can be both a gift and a curse, and its true nature becomes evident as the match unfolds.

But when the shrill of referee Moses Kheswa’s whistle echoes around Cape Town Stadium as Cape Town Spurs clawed their way to a deserved 2-1 DStv Premiership victory against Orlando Pirates, the sheer relief it brought to the home bench was evident if not electric.

The victory, however, still sees Spurs anchored to the bottom of the log with three points, but three points closer to 15th-place Richards Bay (6 points) and five points adrift of 14th-place Royal AM (8 points).

For the Buccaneers (9 points), though, they are still stagnant in 13th place after eight matches.

Spurs, who, via the PSL promotion/relegation playoffs, earned their right to return to South Africa’s top-flight, but had to wait until their ninth league game to record any points as they have gone eight matches without a win or draw.  

After experiencing their seventh loss, the Efstathiou family, who own Spurs, decided to part ways with Shaun Bartlett, the head coach. This decision came less than two months after renewing his contract for successfully guiding the team back to the PSL top flight.

In his first match in the Spurs dugout as interim coach, technical director Sean Connor, who is also searching for the right candidate as Bartlett’s replacement, could not have asked for a better start from his charges. The always-creative Keagan Buchanan unleashed a deep cross after the ball was cleared from a corner kick. Pirates’ back four of Deon Hotto, Olisa Ndah, Tapelo Xoki and Thabiso Monyane were all caught napping and that allowed Lubeni Haukongo to pounce on the defensive blip, putting a crucial left-footed tap in beyond Melusi Buthelezi’s reach.

As the match unfolded, the early goal gradually transformed from a potential curse into a gift for the team.

The goal shocked the away side, and Jose Riveiro’s charges slowly started to get their act together and look to break down Spurs’ stern defensive approach of playing on the counterattack instead. Kermit Erasmus played the necessary role of the target man alongside Evidence Makgopa, whose name is back in the mix at both club and national level after Hugo Broos included the former Baroka FC frontman in Bafana Bafana’s preliminary squad for the two 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Benin and Rwanda later this month.

Cape Town has not been the most favourable location for Pirates, as evidenced not only in the current season, where they suffered a defeat to Stellenbosch in their first league match, but also in their journey to defending their title, where they secured a 2-1 victory in the MTN8 semi-final first leg after a prior loss.

In 31 league matches played in the Mother City against Spurs (formerly Ajax Cape Town), prior to the fixture on Wednesday, Spurs and Pirates have rallied to nine wins each, with 13 draws. Take that record at face value and under the floodlights at Cape Town Stadium, you’d know exactly why that is as Spurs, desperate to get points in their back pocket, defended with immense focus to hold on to the lead.

In fact, after a period in which Pirates looked dangerous with the ball at feet and appeared as though an equaliser was destined, they instead pulled up short with any serious goal attempts before Spurs clicked into attacking gear for a worthwhile second goal.

This time, Jarrod Maroole beat Pirates’ intended offside trap set by captain Xoki and made his run to strike a cross from Luvuyo Phewa. Buthelezi, however, made a stunning save but the ricochet dropped into the path of Maroole and he doubled Spurs’ lead to much delight from the home bench.

Three minutes later, Cupido could have scored a third and put the match to bed, as Pirates again looked sloppy in defence, which has pretty much been the case for Riveiro’s charges this season in their hunt to keep up with log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns.

Spurs’ Achilles heel has always been its defence, and Pirates, who know just how to unlock one, did so through a deep-lying cross which found their head of Xoki and teed it up perfectly for Makgopa, who headed it past goalkeeper Sam Ramsbottom.

The Buccaneers came out the second half searching for the equaliser, but on the night, every chance they created was met by a red shirt, putting their body on the line. Connor’s charges were desperate for points, and getting three against the mighty Buccaneers is a step in the right direction.

Spurs will now begin preparations for their upcoming match against Kaizer Chiefs next Wednesday. Fortunately for Spurs, it’s a match they get to play behind closed doors at FNB Stadium due to a recent decision by the PSL disciplinary committee in response to fan misbehaviour.

Meanwhile, Pirates return to action on Saturday in the quarterfinals of the Carling Knockout Cup against Richards Bay.