Pirates: Title on the Line

Orlando Pirates need one win to end fourteen years without a Betway Premiership title. Standing between them and glory is relegation-threatened Orbit College at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday, 23 May, kick-off 3pm.

The Buccaneers sit second on the log with 66 points, two behind Mamelodi Sundowns who have completed their season. Pirates’ superior goal difference of +44 versus Sundowns’ +36 means a win is enough. Anything less hands Sundowns a ninth consecutive title.

The tension reached breaking point on 16 May when Pirates were held to a goalless draw by Durban City at Orlando Amstel Arena, wasting a chance to wrap up the title at home. Coach Abdeslam Ouaddou refused to panic. “I just want to say to my players, ‘go and take this title in the last game’, and we will do it,” he said after the stalemate.

Captain Nkosinathi Sibisi echoed that defiance. “We are still there, we are still within our objective. We shouldn’t doubt. There’s no reason to doubt,” he told Pirates media. “In our final game against Orbit College, there is no reason not to believe.”

Not everyone is relaxed. Club legend Andries Sebola warned against complacency. “They were overconfident. They thought they had already won the game before it was played,” he told Independent Media, urging Pirates to stay disciplined and team-focused on Saturday.

The key to unlocking Orbit’s defence will likely be 21-year-old Relebohile Mofokeng, who has contributed 10 goals and 8 assists in 26 league appearances this season, and goalkeeper Sipho Chaine, who has set a new league record with 20 clean sheets.

Pirates last won the league in 2012 under Dutch coach Ruud Krol as part of a historic treble. Saturday is their chance to end the longest wait in the club’s modern history.

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