Gabadinho Mhango scored a hat-trick to help Orlando Pirates annihilate Polokwane City with a 4-1 drubbing in the Absa premiership at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Tuesday night.
Mhango scored the opener in the fifth minute, completed a brace in the 14th and wrapped up his hat-trick in the 35th minute.
City were nowhere to be seen until they won a penalty in the 39th minute which Mohammed Anas missed.
At the stroke of halftime Ben Motshwari scored Pirates’ fourth goal giving the visitors a comfortable 4-0 lead at the break.
Clinton Larsen introduced Jabu Maluleke at the start of the second stanza replacing Nkululeko Thangane to stabilise his midfield.
The home side could only manage a consolation goal through Anas fourth minutes after the hour mark. The winning coach Josef Zinnbauer bemoans the lack of a clean sheet.
With the result Pirates moved one spot up to fifth position on the log with 24 points from 16 outings.
The Buccaneers are yet to lose under Zinnbauer, they have collected seven points from a possible nine. The German-born coach is pleased with the record, but adds there is still a lot of work to be done.
City coach Clinton Larsen was disappointed with the result, but not with the performance saying his side did better in the second half.
Larsen believes Pirates’ second goal was offside and it killed his players. However, the coach admits that his defence was overwhelmed.
Rise and Shine are now 13th on the standings with 16 points from 17 outings. Larsen emphasises that last night’s result is not a train smash as City still have time to catch up with their targets. – Report by Lethabo Kganyago
☠ FT || @polokwane_city 1 – 4 @orlandopirates
? 5′, 14′, 36′ Mhango
? 45′ Motshwari
? Man of the Match | Mhango
⚫⚪?⭐#AbsaPrem #Matchday#OnceAlways pic.twitter.com/aYTU1ncsi7— Orlando Pirates FC (@orlandopirates) January 7, 2020
