{"id":21505,"date":"2025-08-08T15:23:54","date_gmt":"2025-08-08T13:23:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/?p=21505"},"modified":"2026-03-12T10:04:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T08:04:34","slug":"how-orlando-pirates-can-end-sundowns-reign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/how-orlando-pirates-can-end-sundowns-reign\/","title":{"rendered":"How Orlando Pirates Can End Sundowns\u2019 Reign at the Top"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Mamelodi Sundowns have ruled domestic football with an iron grip, setting the benchmark for dominance by consistently finishing seasons with 70 points or more. For Orlando Pirates, the mission to dethrone the Tshwane giants in the Betway Premiership is daunting, but not impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Former Buccaneers captain Lucky Lekgwathi believes the Sea Robbers have what it takes to finally disrupt the dominance of Rhulani Mokwena\u2019s side, provided they correct past mistakes and stay consistent throughout the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-matching-sundowns-ruthless-efficiency\">Matching Sundowns\u2019 Ruthless Efficiency<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The numbers don\u2019t lie. Pirates finished a distant 12 points behind Sundowns last season and 23 points behind the campaign before that. While they&#8217;ve shown promise under coach Jos\u00e9 Riveiro, they\u2019ve yet to produce a sustained title challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lekgwathi, a club legend and known for his leadership on the pitch, points out that Pirates&#8217; biggest issue hasn\u2019t been the top-of-the-table clashes but rather dropping points against teams they were expected to beat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;Winning the league isn&#8217;t about only beating your direct rivals. It&#8217;s about not slipping against the so-called smaller teams,&#8221; Lekgwathi told <em>Soccer Laduma<\/em>. &#8220;Those are the games that make the difference. Pirates need to learn from past seasons where they\u2019ve dropped points unnecessarily.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-2863016410\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-learning-from-painful-lessons\">Learning From Painful Lessons<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Lekgwathi believes the Buccaneers have the structure to go toe-to-toe with Sundowns but need to be ruthless against the league&#8217;s strugglers, something Masandawana have mastered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;We\u2019ve seen Pirates falter in fixtures they were expected to win, and that\u2019s where Sundowns have been clinical. They don\u2019t underestimate any opponent,&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Buccaneers&#8217; former skipper is hopeful the team has reflected on last season&#8217;s shortcomings. With a deeper squad and renewed focus, the coming campaign could be the turning point for the Soweto giants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-orlando-pirates-squad-depth-gives-hope\">Orlando Pirates Squad Depth Gives Hope<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Pirates\u2019 off-season preparations, including a pre-season tour in Spain, have been promising. Lekgwathi was particularly impressed by the level of competition within the squad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;There\u2019s a lot of healthy competition. You have three or four quality players in each position. That\u2019s something we didn\u2019t always have in the past,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Last season, injuries were a big setback. If the team stays injury-free, they can seriously challenge for everything.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With a revamped squad and several new signings, Riveiro will be looking to rotate efficiently and keep his squad fresh over a gruelling league and cup schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-426227483\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-stability-off-the-pitch\">Stability Off the Pitch<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Another key factor that could tilt the title race is Pirates\u2019 growing stability at boardroom level. Lekgwathi praised the leadership behind the scenes for giving the technical team the tools they need to succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The leadership must be credited. They\u2019ve created an environment where players can compete, grow and deliver. With that kind of support, you have to aim for the title,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.soccerladuma.co.za\/local\/orlando-pirates\/lucky-lekgwathi-gives-orlando-pirates-advice-on-how-to-dethrone-mamelodi-sundowns\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pirates<\/a> faithful will be hoping that their club can replicate Sundowns&#8217; consistency, especially in terms of points accumulation and handling pressure in the final stretch of the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-journey-begins-now\">The Journey Begins Now<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Orlando Pirates kick off their Betway Premiership campaign at home this Saturday, facing Sekhukhune United at Orlando Stadium. A strong start is essential to build early momentum, and the team will be under pressure to immediately show they\u2019ve grown from past inconsistencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the right blend of talent, depth, and mental toughness, Pirates can pose a real threat to Sundowns\u2019 throne. But as Lekgwathi rightly pointed out, the road to the title runs through the so-called \u201ceasy games\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Related article: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/orlando-pirates-face-sundowns-in-mtn8-semi-final\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Orlando Pirates Set for Tough Battle Against Mamelodi Sundowns<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mamelodi Sundowns have ruled domestic football with an iron grip, setting the benchmark for dominance by consistently finishing seasons with 70 points or more. For Orlando Pirates, the mission to dethrone the Tshwane giants in the Betway Premiership is daunting, but not impossible. Former Buccaneers captain Lucky Lekgwathi believes the Sea Robbers have what it<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":21506,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"Mamelodi Sundowns have ruled domestic football with an iron grip, setting the benchmark for dominance by consistently finishing seasons with 70 points or more....","footnotes":""},"categories":[56,64],"tags":[360,273,9773,288],"class_list":{"0":"post-21505","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"category-sports-news","9":"tag-mamelodi-sundowns","10":"tag-orlando-pirates","11":"tag-psl-2025-26-season","12":"tag-soccer"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21505"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21507,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21505\/revisions\/21507"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}