Pirates down Spurs to book Carling Knockout Cup quarterfinal berth

A penalty from Tapelo Xoki on the hour mark and a good goal by Kermit Erasmus on 65 minutes kept the Sea Robbers in the race to win their second trophy of the season.

This was the first game for Pirates after their successful MTN8 campaign where they defeated Mamelodi Sundowns in the climax in Durban two weeks ago.

Coach Jose Riveiro made a few changes to his starting line-up as he gave star player Thembinkosi Lorch his first start of the season.

Lorch was voted man of the match by the fans and took home R100,000.

Olisa Ndah, who came on as a first-half replacement in the final and gave a superb performance, started at centre back alongside Xoki as Nkosinathi Sibisi was on the stands.

Upfront, Evidence Makgopa was selected as the main striker in the absence of injured Zakhele Lepasa while another star forward Vincent Pule also made an appearance off the bench.

Other notable absentees from Pirates were danger man Monnapule Saleng, who is injured, and young Relebohile Mofokeng who is currently on trial with English Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Spurs were searching for their first victory since their return to the big time.

The Capetonians have lost all eight of their DStv Premiership games, which leaves them rooted at the foot of the table.

The first half at Orlando Stadium didn't produce a goal despite chances for both teams to find the back of the net.

Pirates were in full control of the game while Spurs did a lot of defending with players such as Erasmus and Deon Hotto coming close to breaking the deadlock.

The Sea Robbers had one of their chances cleared off the line by Spurs' veteran defender Nazeer Allie late in the second half.

The Soweto giants also had their No. 1 shot-stopper Sipho Chaine suffering a knock and having to be replaced by Melusi Buthelezi on 32 minutes.

Buthelezi didn't have many problems to deal with on his Pirates debut after arriving during the off-season from TS Galaxy.

The hosts continued to pile pressure on the Urban Warriors in the second stanza and that worked as they were awarded a penalty on the hour mark when goalkeeper Zama Dlamini brought down Makgopa in the box.

Skipper Xoki, who missed a penalty in the final, stepped and sent Dlamini the wrong way.

Pirates doubled their lead after five minutes when Erasmus beat substitute goalie Sam Ramsbottom after being nicely set up by Makgopa.

Pirates will travel to Durban for their next league match where they will face AmaZulu FC on Tuesday before they host Polokwane City on Friday, October 27.

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