Lepasa justifies return to Pirates with brace in big win against Royal

Zakhele Lepasa justified getting his place back in Orlando Pirates' squad and starting XI by scoring a first-half brace in the Soweto giants' 4-2 DStv Premiership victory over Royal AM at Orlando Stadium on Tuesday night.

The Bafana Bafana striker was loaned to SuperSport United towards the end of last season and called back after he had shown better form with the Tshwane club and scored crucial goals for the national team.

Pirates had to bounce back after starting the season with a 1-0 defeat away to Stellenbosch FC at the weekend.

Jose Riveiro's team dominated possession from the first whistle. Monnapule Saleng, Patrick Maswanganyi and Relebogile Mofokeng were all eager to find Lepasa with a final pass or take chances themselves against a Royal who already look early relegation candidates given their signings ban from Fifa.

Pirates took the lead in the 15th minute when Royal skipper Samuel Manganyi fouled Maswanganyi inside the area after one of the slick moves by Pirates towards the visitors' goal. Lepasa slotted his opening goal from the spot before completing his brace with a spectacular overhead kick in the 35th minute, stretching Bucs' lead to 3-0.

In between his brace, Saleng opened his account for the season by  curling in a shot to finish another scintillating move the home side conjured against a team that provided them little challenge.

Royal coach John Maduka, obviously furious with his team's display, pulled out four players, including former Pirates stars Thabo Matlaba and Menzi Masuku in the 40th minute. One of the players introduced, Siphiwe Cele, took only four minutes to reduce the score to 3-1 when Bucs lowered their guard towards the end of the first half.

Mxolisi Macuphu, a former Pirates striker, gave the game a semblance of being close when it was not. He took advantage of Bucs' sloppy defending to reduce the score to 3-2 two minutes from time.

Bandile Shandu completed Royal's rout in the third minute of added time when Pirates appeared to have been shaken by Macuphu's goal, which came out of nowhere.

The win is a huge boost for Pirates ahead of their tough MTN8 quarterfinal clash against Sekhukhune United here on Saturday.

Maduka and his team will have 10 days to recharge their batteries before they host Stellenbosch FC on August 18, when they will be looking to register their first full spoils after drawing 0-0 against AmaZulu in their opening fixture.