Orlando Pirates produced a great show of resilience to steal a crucial 1-0 win in the opening leg of their CAF Champions League quarter-final tie against MC Alger which took place at Stade du 5 Juillet on Tuesday night.
The victory placed them on the driving seat ahead of next week’s deciding leg at Orlando Stadium. It also saw them extend their unbeaten run in the competition to 11 matches, while inflicting a rare defeat on their in-form hosts.
Back in Algiers following their success in the Algerian capital in the group phase, the Soweto Giants were quickly placed on the backfoot this time around. The hosts asserted their dominance from the onset, finding a shot at goal seconds after the first whistle. That effort came through Guinean forward Mohamed Bangoura, who headed wide with his effort.
Bucs keeper Sipho Chaine was called upon a few times during the opening exchanges, making some desperate interventions as the visitors continued to be pinned back. He was crucial in keeping the match scoreless throughout the first half, producing excellent saves to keep out shots from Bangoura and Zakaria Naidji.
Pirates meanwhile were forced to feed off scraps as far as attacking opportunities were concerned. Their first real chance was a rather opportunistic one from Relebohile Mofokeng, who looked to catch goalkeeper Abdelatif Ramdane off guard, but could only direct his effort wide of the target.
The hosts continued to demand plenty from the visitors’ defence as the break approached. The best of their chances came through Naidji on the stroke of halftime when he did well to work himself into space out on the left before drawing another superb save from Chaine.
There was a bit more cohesion to the Buccaneers’ game at the start of the second half, while The Doyen also looked to continue in their aggressive approach. Naidji was again in the thick of things as he was presented with a chance through a misplaced pass in a dangerous area, only to rush his attempt at goal.
The introduction of Mohau Nkota on the hour mark proved to be the spark needed by Jose Riveiro’s side, as the youngster made an immediate impact shortly after coming on. He ran into an excellent ball from the middle, brushing off the attention from the defence before calmly slotting in past Ramdane to provide a crucial away goal in the 65th minute, his third in his second appearance in Algiers.
The North Africans appeared to have hit back with a goal of their own just seconds later, but it would not stand as captain Ayoub Abdellaoui was adjudged to have interfered with Chaine just before finding the net.
They remained unrelenting in their pursuit for the equaliser, with the Bucs shot-stopper by far the busier of the two men between the sticks. He produced another save to foil an attack late in the contest before MC Alger forward Soufiane Bayazid misfired with a header from close range with just two minutes of regulation time remaining.
An additional eight minutes meant that the visitors were far from the promised land, with plenty still demanded of them defensively. They stood up well to the challenge, with the likes of Nkosinathi Sibisi, Mbekezeli Mbokazi and Tapelo Xoki putting their bodies on the line.
It was all that was required as they clung on to their slim advantage to take a one-goal lead into the decisive second leg on home turf.
Pirates XI: Chaine, Xoki, Sibisi, Van Rooyen (Shandu 77’), Mbokazi, Makhaula, Mbatha (Ndlondlo 88’), Dlamini (Nkota 60’), Mofokeng (Mosele 77’), Hotto, Makgopa (Mabasa 88’).
