Orlando Pirates' Mabasa Delivers Masterclass In Nedbank Cup Victory

Orlando Pirates coach Jos Riveiro wanted to avoid extra-time like the plague and was highly relieved when his side were 3-0 up around the hour mark against Baroka on Saturday.

Tshegofatso Mabasa, the lone striker in Pirates' 4-2-3-1 formation, delivered a masterclass at Orlando Stadium with a hat-trick. This secured the Buccaneers place in the Nedbank Cup quarter-finals and kept them on target to defend their title they won over the past two seasons. Mabasa gave Pirates the early ascendancy with two first-half goals.

After the match, Riveiro could not hide his delight that his team had wrapped up the game in 90 minutes against the second-tier opponents Baroka, who occupy a mid-table position in the First Division.

'It was a relief to finish the game in 90 minutes and avoid going into extra time,' said Riveiro. 'If there's something that we didn't need, it was extra time, because it would affect a lot of the planning for next week.

We have a difficult game away against Golden Arrows away on Wednesday and we are hosting Cape Town City here on Saturday.