The KZN side pull one back but Mabasa seals the deal in stoppage time.
Orlando Pirates staved off a brave Richards Bay fightback to reach the Nedbank Cup last 16 with a 3-1 win at the King Zwelithini Stadium on Sunday.
A Patrick Maswanganyi double had seemed to put Jose Riveiro’s Buccaneers in cruise control inside the first half hour in front of a sold out crowd in Umlazi.
But the home side provided a valiant response and pulled a goal back just after half time through Yanela Mbuthuma.
Mabasa seals it for Pirates
With a bit of luck, Richards Bay may even have found a leveller but in the end, Tshegofatso Mabasa’s strike in the last minute of stoppage time sealed the victory.
The day didn’t start so well for Maswanganyi, as he found himself in the referee’s book in the 16th minute for diving inside the penalty area.
‘Tito’ curled just over the bar from the edge of the box a minute later but Richards Bay didn’t heed the warningÂ
In the 22nd minute, Mohau Nkota did superbly to get to the byline and cut the ball back to Relebohile Mofokeng. Mofokeng laid a pass off to Maswanganyi and his left-footed shot beat Ian Otieno and nestled in the corner of the net.
Pirates doubled their lead with a sublime move just four minutes after that. Nkota found Mofokeng, who slipped in Maswanganyi with a deft pass, with ‘Tito’ easily slotting past Otieno.
Richards Bay, to their credit, kept coming at Pirates and were unlucky not to halve the deficit in the 32nd minute. Two excellent dummies inside the penalty area saw the ball arrive at the feet of Thato Mohlamme.
Mohlamme’s effort rattled the crossbar, then hit Pirates ‘keeper Melusi Buthelezi and rolled wide.
Six minutes before the break, Richards Bay wasted another glorious opportunity to score. Thulani Gumede’s cross from the right was tipped by Buthelezi straight into the path of Somila Ntsundwana.
But his weak effort went straight into the arms of the grateful Buccaneers shot-stopper.
Richards Bay made a double change at the break, bringing on Thabiso Kutumela and Siyanda Dlamini for Ntsudwana and Siyabonga Duba.
Richards Bay strike
And the home side pulled one back just two minutes into the second half. Buthelezi needlessly gave possession away and the ball came to Gumede on the edge of the box. His shot was stopped by the Pirates’ keeper but fell for Yanela Mbuthuma who fired home from close range.
Richards Bay should have been level in the 52nd minute as Gumede crossed for Mbuthuma, but the striker slipped at the vital moment and the danger was cleared.
An absolute screamer from Langehihle Mhlongo flew just over the bar as Richards Bay continued to press Pirates back.
Maswanganyi then showed the more pointless side to his game, showboating in midfield. He was robbed of possession and Richards Bay launched a counter-attack, Mbuthuma’s shot deflecting narrowly wide.
Pirates seemed to recover their composure after that and Otieno had to be sharp to deny both Thalente Mbatha and Mabasa. But there was nothing Otieno could do about Mabasa’s unerring finish in stoppage time.
