By Kopano Dibakwane
Orlando Pirates cruised to a comfortable 3-1 victory against Ecuadorian team, Independent del Valle, in a friendly game played at the Marbella football centre in Spain on Saturday.
The match was part of the pre-season preparatory games before the start of the anticipated DStv premiership league which is scheduled to start on 4 August.
The Buccaneers dominated the first half with an obvious intention to win, but a lapse in concentration by the Pirates defence allowed Independent to poach their first and only goal of the match in the 22nd minute.
Bucs went into the second half trailing 1-0, but their fortunes changed in the 50th minute when the newly-signed Souaibou Maruo from Cameroon took advantage of an error by Indepediente defence and scored the equaliser. The second and third goals came from Patrick Maswanganyi and Fortune Makaringe in the 59th and 64th minutes, respectively.
Indepediente is the second team to suffer a loss at the hands of the Buccaneers, after Israeli team Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC was beaten 1-0. The last friendly match will be played on Wednesday before Bucs return to South Africa.
