Mofokeng nets first-ever hat-trick as Orlando Pirates put six past 10-man Galaxy to go top

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Mofokeng nets first-ever hat-trick as Orlando Pirates put six past 10-man Galaxy to go top
Relebohile Mofokeng, Orlando Pirates. Image - Pirates

Relebohile Mofokeng scored a hat-trick as Orlando Pirates returned to the summit of the Premier Soccer League table following a 6-0 thrashing of 10-man TS Galaxy at the Mbombela Stadium on Sunday.

Pirates’ job got easier when the Rockets were reduced to 10 men just four minutes into the game when Oupa Motaung received a straight red card for denying Tshepang Moremi a goalscoring opportunity when he brought him down as he was through on goal.

That challenge handed Mofokeng the opportunity to begin his heroics as the youngster curled home the resulting freekick, finding the top corner with Galaxy’s Ivorian goalkeeper Eliezer Ira Tape rooted to his spot.

Tshepang Moremi of Orlando Pirates in action against TS Galaxy.
Tshepang Moremi of Orlando Pirates in action against TS Galaxy. Photo: Orlando Pirates

Mofokeng nearly turned provider in the 17th minute when he found Andre de Jong but the midfielder’s great shot was well kept out by Tape.

Pirates turn on the style against Galaxy

Yanela Mbuthuma and Thalente Mbatha also drew great saves from the Galaxy goalkeeper before Mofokeng squared to De Jong once more with Tape saving acrobatically to deny the New Zealand international.

However, from the resulting corner, Deon Hotto found Moremi stationed just outside the box and the Pirates winger drilled low past Tape for the second goal in the 41st minute.

It turned from bad to worse three minutes later for Adnan Beganovic’s side as they scored an own goal to extend Pirates’ lead. Mbuthuma saw his shot hit a Galaxy defender but Mlungisi Mbujana panicked and took a back pass to his goalkeeper only to see the ball roll into the net as Tape had already committed and on the ground.

Pirates took a 3-0 lead into the break after halftime, it took them just eight minutes to score the fourth. Oswin Appollis went on a good run on the right wing and squared the ball to Mofokeng who coolly sealed his brace inside the box.

Rele Mofokeng completes hat-trick

Kamogelo Sebelebele of Orlando Pirates scores against TS Galaxy.
Kamogelo Sebelebele of Orlando Pirates scores against TS Galaxy. Photo: Orlando Pirates

By this time, Tape had made nine saves but his great job yielded nothing as he was picking the ball out of the net soon after.

In the 64th minute, Masindi Nemtajela picked out Kamogelo Sebelebele with a good pass on the right wing and the former Galaxy man fired home against his ex-employers for 5-0 in favour of coach Abdeslam Ouaddou’s men.

Five minutes later, Mofokeng put the icing on Pirates’ cake when he completed his hat-trick while scoring a sixth goal for the Buccaneers. Against the run of play, the 21-year-old got into the box and beautifully cured past Tape and into the top corner for his first career treble.

It was a great show from Pirates, who won their fourth away game in a row, which now takes their tally to 51 points from 22 games, one head of second-placed Mamelodi Sundowns, who have played 21 matches.

Most importantly, Pirates also boosted their goal difference as they now have a +31 goal-difference compared to +26 for Sundowns. Given how tight the title race is, goal difference could come to the fore hence the need for both sides to score as many as possible.

<!-- Author Start -->Joel Oliver<!-- Author End -->

Joel Oliver

Author

Joel Oliver is a seasoned multimedia sports journalist with a rich background in covering diverse football stories and events in South Africa and beyond.
His extensive coverage spans subjects touching on the PSL, with a focus on the Big Three (Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs & Mamelodi Sundowns), Bafana Bafana and Banyana Banyana.

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