Soccer
Students' true colours come shining through
For the first time this season Bidvest Wits displayed their true colours, grinding out a hard-fought victory which should, at least for now, go some way in restoring the defending champions' heavily dented reputation.
Given the poor run they've had since the new season started, even Wits coach Gavin Hunt won't mind that it took his side six rounds to register their first Absa Premiership win against an Orlando Pirates side that came here on the back of a promising start.
A lone and early opportunistic strike by debutant Gerald Phiri was enough to punish a rampant Pirates that came to Milpark looking for nothing other than three points to stay in touch with the early pacesetters after winning three and drawing two of their opening matches.
The Students' game was never pretty, but direct and undecorated as it was, it was enough to give a fighting Milutin Sredojevic's team their first taste of defeat this season.A needless tackle on the right side of the centre line by Buccaneers midfield star Musa Nyatama contributed immensely to the Wits goal as Phumlani Ntshangase's free-kick was not cleared by Pirates' defenders in the area.
In the midst of indecision by Bucs' centrebacks, Phiri pounced and beat goalkeeper Wayne Sandilands to register his first league goal on debut for the Clever Boys.
Many chances
Pirates had plenty of chances in both halves to find the equaliser, with Thabo Qalinge, Thamsanqa Gabuza and Thabo Matlaba all coming close to beat goalkeeper Moeneeb Josephs in Wits' goal.
In the referee's optional time in the first half, Matlaba, who was again paired with Nyatama in his new role in midfield, was unlucky to see his shot ricochet off Josephs' legs and go over the bar, while Qalinge hit the upright in the eighth minute.
In the second half it was Pirates who dictated play and bombarded Wits with attack after attack, but a 10-man bus that was parked by Wits proved difficult to breach even when Sredojevic introduced Mpho Maleka, Thabiso Kutumela and Bernard Morrison for Lyle Foster, Thembinkosi Lorch and Qalinge...
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