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Orlando Pirates had to settle for a 1-1 draw with relegation-threatened Baroka on Tuesday night, as they fell further behind in the race for the Absa Premiership title.
While Abel Mabaso handed the hosts a well-deserved lead at Ellis Park, Evidence Makgopa's controversial equaliser ensured a point for Bakgakga in their fight for top-flight survival.
The draw leaves Pirates stuck in third place on the table, nine behind table-toppers Chiefs who also have two games in hand.
Baroka made a bright start to the match, enjoying a nice spell of possession in their opponents' half and looking threatening on the break.
Slowly but surely, however, the Buccaneers started to find their footing, with Abel Mabaso - given a rare chance in the starting line-up by Josef Zinnbauer - causing a problem or two in the midfield.
Coming off the back off three straight 0-0 draws and still looking for their first goal since the resumption of the Premiership, it's clear Pirates were desperate to score.
Sixteen minutes into the game, their wait was finally over.
The action started with a pacy counter-attack up the left from Gabadinho Mhango, and even though Thamsanqa Masiya was there to make the tackle for Baroka, his attempted back pass only succeeded in finding Mabaso, who beat Elvis Chipezeze from a tight angle to finally give Pirates fans the goal they'd been waiting for, for so long.
Clearly eager to make up for his error, Masiya responded almost immediately with a strong run up the right and an accurate cross into the box, but Wayne Sandilands was able to punch the ball clear in the Pirates goal.
Pirates' joy at taking the lead would prove to be short-lived when Baroka equalised not long before half-time, albeit in controversial circumstances. While Evidence Makgopa did well to fire home Masiya's low cross from the wing, replays seemed to show the striker was offside when the ball was played in.
The start of the second half saw a double change for Pirates, with Nkanyiso Zungu replacing Fortune Makaringe and Paseka Mako making way for Thembinkosi Lorch, back from his internal suspension.
Lorch made his presence felt almost immediately, delivering an early cross from the left that allowed Mabaso to shoot and force the block from Chipezeze.
But a desperate Bakgakga side continued to look dangerous, and they nearly took the lead when Nhlanhla Mgaga put Makgopa through on goal, with only Sandilands' timely intervention off his line saving the day.
As the second half progressed, only one team looked like grabbing a winner and that was Pirates, but despite making nearly double the number of passes of their opponents, they could not find another way through the Baroka defence.
The match grew increasingly ill-tempered as the final whistle approached, with plenty of fouls flying in, but the Bucs could not find a cure for their frustration as it finished 1-1 after nearly seven minutes of added time.
- TEAMtalk media
Channel 202
