FORTUNE Makaringe’s solitary goal helped Orlando Pirates beat a 10-man Bloemfontein Celtic 1-0 at Orlando Stadium yesterday.
Makaringe unleashed a thunderous low shot from the edge of penalty box in the 61st minutes to give Bucs their third consecutive win over Siwelele.
Celtic suffered a huge blow on the stroke of halftime when captain Ndumiso Mabena was shown a red card for a rough tackle on Linda Mntambo.
Pirates have now narrowed the seven points gap between them and log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns to four points having collected 32 points.
The defeat is a setback for Celtic’s hopes to finish within the top eight for the second successive season.
Bucs have also beaten Celtic by the same margin in the first round and they also beat them 2-1 in the MTN8 Cup final in December last year.
Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer made just one change to the side that thrashed Maritzburg United 3-1 in the Nedbank Cup last 16 round at Harry Gwala Stadium over the weekend with Kabelo Dlamini getting the nod to start in the absence of workaholic midfielder Thabang Monare due to suspension. The German-born coach also welcomed back two of his strikers Gabadinho Mhango and Tshegofatso Mabasa who were on the bench but he opted Deon Hotto and Vincent Pule in the attacking role.
Mabasa was given a run after the break as he replaced Hotto.
Pirates had a positive start in a bid to unlock the strong Celtic defence led by Justice Chabalala who is currently on loan from the Soweto giants.
Hotto had his first attempt to score in the 38th minutes but his overhead kick was way off target.
