{"id":294938,"date":"2025-11-30T13:35:50","date_gmt":"2025-11-30T11:35:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/vistanews\/pirates-top-the-leaderboard-kicking-sundowns-into-second-position\/"},"modified":"2025-11-30T15:55:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T13:55:09","slug":"pirates-top-the-leaderboard-kicking-sundowns-into-second-position","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/vistanews\/pirates-top-the-leaderboard-kicking-sundowns-into-second-position\/","title":{"rendered":"Pirates top the leaderboard kicking Sundowns into second position"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>DURBAN<\/strong> &#8211; Orlando Pirates climbed to the top of the leaderboard on Saturday after their 2-0 win over Durban City in the Moses Mabhida stadium,  replacing Mamelodi Sundowns as leaders of the South African Premiership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Evidence Makgopa put the Soweto-based club ahead on 23 minutes and Patrick Maswanganyi<br>netted after 77 minutes in the Indian Ocean city. It was the third league goal of the season for<br>both scorers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pirates have 28 points and Sundowns 25 after 12 rounds in the richest African national league<br>with a 20 million rand ($1.17 mn) first prize.<br>While Pirates were securing maximum points for the second time in five days, having beaten<br>Chippa United 2-0 on Tuesday, Sundowns were flying home after a CAF Champions League<br>match in Algeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ALSO READ: <a href=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/stellenbosch-fc-comeback-victory-orbit-college-betway-premiership\/\">Stellenbosch FC snatch victory in thrilling Betway premiership clash<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pirates were shock losers to Congolese outfit Saint-Eloi Lupopo in the final qualifying round<br>of the premier African club competition.<br>But many observers believe there could be a silver lining to the early exit &#8211; Pirates can<br>concentrate on the Premiership while Sundowns face both domestic and time-consuming<br>international challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pretoria-based Sundowns have won the last eight editions of the Premiership, some by huge<br>margins, but the depth of Pirates&#8217; squad suggests a closer race this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;We were much better in the second half than the first against Durban thanks to some tactical<br>adjustments,&#8221; said Pirates coach and former Fulham defender Abdeslam Ouaddou.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Apart from taking Pirates to top spot in the league, the Moroccan guided the Buccaneers to<br>victory in an early-season knockout competition and they face Marumo Gallants on<br>December 6 in the League Cup final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-results-from-this-weekend-betway-premiership\">Results from this weekend (Betway Premiership)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Friday, 28 November<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Richards Bay 2 &#8211; 0 AmaZulu FC<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Saturday, 29 November<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Durban City 0 &#8211; 2 Orlando Pirates<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Polokwane City 0 &#8211; 0 TS Galaxy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Siwelele 0 &#8211; 0 Chippa United<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-upcoming-fixtures\">Upcoming fixtures<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Sunday, 30 November <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Marumo Gallants v Magesi (13:30)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-log-standings-top5\">Log standings (TOP5)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Orlando Pirates (28); Mamelodi Sundowns (25); Sekhukhune United (22); Kaizer Chiefs (22); and AmaZulu FC (21)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Orlando Pirates topped the South African Premiership with a 2-0 win over Durban City, surpassing Mamelodi Sundowns in 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This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.8 (Yoast SEO v27.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pirates top the leaderboard kicking Sundowns into second position | Vista<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Orlando Pirates are now top of the log in the Betway Premiership after defeating Durban City 2-0. 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The two sides also met earlier this year (pictured). Left is Sundowns' forward Peter Shalulile kicking the ball away from Pirates' forward Evidence Makgopa during the Premier Soccer League (PSL) South African Premier Division football match in March. 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