/ 8 February 2004

Vilikazi hat-trick helps Pirates win

Benedict Vilikazi scored three goals in five minutes to spur Orlando Pirates to a commanding 5-0 win over Dynamos in a fast-paced Premier Soccer League match at Johannesburg Stadium on Saturday night.

Bucs striker Bheka Phakathi scored a brace — one goal either side of halftime — and midfielder Vilikazi scored a hat-trick between the 83rd and 88th minutes.

Phakathi opened the scoring three minutes before the break to give Pirates a slender 1-0 lead at half-time, but that soon changed as Bucs turned it on in the second period.

In the second stanza, Augusto Palacios’s charges came out strongly and dominated Steve Khompela’s team to slot a further four goals and put the result beyond doubt, although they only led 2-0 with seven minutes remaining.

Phakati completed his brace in the 59th minute giving Dynamos goalkeeper Aime Kitenge no chance, but that score sparked massive controversy.

The drama started when the assistant referee raised his flag for an infringement but referee Enoch Radebe waved play on, which resulted in Phakati’s second goal.

After Phakati scored that goal, Dynamos captain Joel Seroba, together with his players, surrounded the ref to dispute the goal.

Radebe then gave the captain a red card, which made the Dynamos bench furious, but order was restored soon after and the game went on.

However, the incident seemed to have rattled Dynamos and they had no answer to Vilikazi’s late onslaught.

He scored the third goal in the 83rd minute, fourth in the 85th minute and the last goal in the 88th minute to complete the rout. — Sapa