Orlando Pirates up to third on PSL table with Maritzburg win

With just his first touch of the ball, Thembinkosi Lorch sent the home crowd into a frenzy ” a befitting return for the latest man to be crowned the PSL Footballer of the Season at this club.

The return of Lorch revived Pirates. They played with fluidity in the engine as they looked to exploit the pockets using Phillip Ndlondlo in the channels.

Without a proper No 9, given that Terrence Dzvukamanja is a ball player, Pirates spent most of the time rotating the ball, without the required penetration though.

But like he's been doing this season, Monnapule Saleng became the hero deep in stoppage time of the first half, beating goalkeeper Renaldo Learner with a hard and low curling effort.

Maritzburg started the second half with vigour. But Pirates extinguished that fire as they doubled the lead to all but crawl closer to the three points.

Saleng unleashed a curling free-kick that found an unmarked Terrence Dzvukamanja who slotted home with a diving header, sending the stadium into a huge frenzy.

That goal saw the Ghost restore their faith in the Zimbabwean as they gave him a standing ovation during his substitution after booing him last month.

In the later stages of the game, Pirates had marched closer to the victory that they handed striker Souaibou Marou his debut since arriving late last year.

The Cameroonian didn't impact the game, though, as Njoti pulled one back later in the game, but that didn't stop Pirates from moving to third ahead of the derby.