”A win is a win is a win,” expounded famed baseball coach Leo Durocher. To which Pitso Mosimane will surely concur after his SuperSport United team’s backs-to-the-wall, disciplined and terrier-like 1-0 Premier League triumphed over Orlando Pirates at Ellis Park on Wednesday night.
A superbly timed, opportunist strike from Katlego Mashego midway through the opening half punctured a badly fitted net and gave SuperSport the goal that leapfrogged them into a challenging fourth position on the log table.
But it was the Buccaneers who had 21 shots at goal against their opponent’s four and enjoyed a clear territorial advantage — only to be tied in knots by SuperSport’s relentless and well-manned defence.
And, after a rousing opening in which Paulos Masehe almost opened the score for the Buccaneers in the opening minute, the mood of an 18 000 crowd dominated by Pirates supporters became increasingly subdued and morose the longer the game lasted.
Well before the end, a pall of disappointment intermingled with dismay had gripped the svelte Doornfontein Stadium as it became clear that Pirates would need a month of Sundays to disentangle themselves from SuperSport’s ”Iron Curtain”.
Even the introduction of three attacking substitutes could not end the frustration for Pirates, with Mosimane, in turn, simply bringing on more defenders to man his ship towards victory — and even pulling off the dangerous Mashego as early as the 55th minute in a safety first ploy.
After a stimulating 2-0 success against Silver Stars at the same venue over the weekend, Pirates’ officials and vast army of supporters had been confident that the tide had turned for a team that specialises in promising much and producing relatively little.
But against more sophisticated opposition in SuperSport, the Buccaneers’ disturbing start to their delayed league programme only continued with a second loss in three matches.
Heroic in goal for SuperSport, nonetheless, was 21-year-old Uganda international goalkeeper, Denis Onyango, whom many felt should have been left out of the starting line-up and replaced by evergreen former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Andre Arendse following Saturday’s deflating Supa8 final defeat against Kaizer Chiefs.
But Onyango handled everything Pirates could throw at him and fully vindicated coach Mosimane’s faith in him.
Jabu Mahlangu, Pirates’ great hope, in turn, only stuttered with sporadic brilliance and never produced the electrifying form he had shown against Silver Stars. — Sapa