THOHOYANDOU – Highlandspark Silver Stars or Tycoon Silver Stars as they were formerly known gave Orlando Pirates a lifetime shock when they unexpectedly booted them out of the prestigious Absa Cup KO competition following a 2-0 victory at the Thohoyandou Stadium on Saturday.

As if they are campaigning in the same division, Silver Stars showed no respect for their elder brothers and matched them pound for pound in all departments. Lesley Manyathela, the Buccaneers and PSL's top goal scorer at the moment could not display his normal impressive skills as Oscar Ntoagae tightly marked him.

The home side's Morris Chauke came close to scoring when he saw his attempt miss the target by a whisker after he received a neat pass from Surprise Moriri in the 5th minute. The referee, Mr Lawrence Monnathoka issued his first yellow card to Lucky Lekgwati for bringing down Stanely Kgata, who posed a serious threat to the Bucs defence in the 15th minute.

"The Ghost" soon realised that it was not their day when their dribbling wizard Steve Lekoelea forced his way and shot wide from the far left corner. Bucs again missed another chance when Oscar Ntoagae foiled Boitumelo Muleyane's attempt four minutes before interval.

No goal was seen during the first half. A brilliant goal by Surprise Moriri in the 66th minute killed the Buccaneers' fighting spirit. William Okpara, the Pirates' keeper suffered the pain of watching the ball going beyond his reach after Moriri unleashed a powerful shot from within the box.

Lucky Lekgwati nearly brought Pirates back into the game but his shot went wide eight minutes before the final whistle. Pirates' hopes of coming back into the game were shattered by a substitute, Keketso Motoung who beat Okpara to bring the score to 2-0 in the 89th minute.