JOHANNESBURG – Black Leopards fought hard to earn a well-deserved, goalless draw against Orlando Pirates in their Castle Premiership League match that was played at the Johannesburg Stadium on Saturday. Lidoda Duvha had themselves to blame for the poor results, as they should have won the match convincingly.

The game was an equally contested battle, despite the fact that the visitors squandered numerous scoring chances. Their first chance came in the seventh minute, when a through pass from Duncan Lechesa found an unmarked Richard Lishivha, whose goal shot was saved by the acrobatic Pirates keeper, John Tlale. The homeside responded seven minutes thereafter, when their new signee, Edward Malinga, saw his header hitting the crossbar. Pirates were unlucky once again, when Bennedict Vilakazi faced the lone keeper, Walter Khumalo, and shot wide from within the box.

The coach of Pirates finally succumbed to pressure from the fans when he introduced Steve Lekoelea in the second half. The Leopards' striker, Kelvin Mushangazhike, who came on as a substitute later in the game, was given his marching orders by referee Ronney Marhule for an illegal tackle on Edward Malinga.

The Thohoyandou outfit fought to the bitter end, notwithstanding the fact that they were minus one man. The Pirates fans blamed coach Roy Barreto for the unpleasing results. They threw missiles at him shortly after the final whistle, saying he must pack his bags and go.

In the other PSL matches that were played at various venues on the same day, Jomo Cosmos beat Supersport United 1-0 at the Loftus Stadium in Pretoria. Kaizer Chiefs and Wits University shared the spoils when they played to a goalless draw at the Orkney Stadium.