Thanda Royal Zulu stun Pirates

2008-03-22 18:53

Johannesburg - Eight days ago they were buoyant and brimming with confidence over their chances of gaining success in both the PSL and the Nedbank Cup.

But on Saturday afternoon, after a sprightly Thanda Royal Zulu FC had effectively busted Pirates' hopes of League glory with a deserved 2-1 victory at King's Park Stadium in Durban - coming in the wake of elimination from the Nedbank Cup a week earlier - it was a case of the bitter blues for a listless, dumbfounded Buccaneers.

"Certainly we've been brought back to earth," said Pirates coach Owen da Gama after his team's defence, in particular, had been taken to the cleaners. "But we now know where our limitations are - and we'll continue to give it our best shot."

But if the performance against Royal Zulu is any criterion of Pirates' best shot, their chances of staying with the likes of Ajax Cape Town, SuperSport United, Free State Stars and Santos in the Premiership title race would seem remote indeed.

After a goalless opening half in which Royal Zulu had sufficient gilt-edged scoring opportunities to have scored thee goals, the Durban club opened the score four minutes after the interval via a towering header from Ghanaian defender Achmed Mohammed.

And, with what was almost a facsimile copy of the opening goal, the deft Bernard Parker increased the lead in the 76th minute after the Pirates' defence had again been all at sea following a set piece - this time a swerving corner from Ryan Botha.

Pirates, who had looked conspicuously ineffective near goal up to this point, reduced the deficit two minutes later when Bennet Chenene swivelled onto a through-pass in the penalty area and guided the ball into the corner of the net with timely poise and precision.

The goal galvanised Pirates into belated action, but truthfully it was Royal Zulu who looked the likelier team to score in the closing stages from characteristic, incisive counter-attacks that paved the way for them to ease their relegation problems quite considerably.

And as if Pirates' woes were not sufficiently apparent, they have suffered another setback in that midfield king-pin Teko Modise secured a third yellow card and will be suspended for this team's next fixture.

- SAPA