Pirates must take lessons from Chiefs past pain in title race

Pirates should guard against complacency by thinking the league title is already in the bag.

Following Mamelodi Sundowns’ shock 3-2 loss to TS Galaxy on Tuesday night, Orlando Pirates need just three points from their remaining two league matches to clinch the 2025/26 Betway Premiership title.

The Buccaneers are at home against Durban City on Saturday and away to Orbit College on the final day of the season on 23 May. And if Pirates get the needed three points, they would have secured a club treble for the first time since the 2011/12 season.

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Pirates, however, should guard against complacency by thinking the league title is already in the bag.

It’s not wise to do that. The Buccaneers must ask their Soweto rivals, Kaizer Chiefs, how it feels to celebrate winning the league before you actually win it.

During the 2019/20 season, Chiefs, under the guidance of Ernst Middendorp, needed three points to wrestle the league title away from Mamelodi Sundowns. However, Baroka FC left Amakhosi heartbroken as they held them to a frustrating 1-1 draw on the final day of the season.

Sundowns beat Black Leopards 2-0 in the other game, leapfrogging Chiefs and successfully defending their league title. Chiefs’ failure to win the league title led to Middendorp losing his job at the Naturena-based club.

It was not the first time that Chiefs had found themselves in the same predicament. In 1987, during the NSL season, Chiefs lost the league title on the final day.

Needing a point from their final four fixtures to win it, Amakhosi lost all of them, and Jomo Cosmos were crowned champions after they beat Leeds United 4-2 on the final day, leapfrogging Chiefs at the top of the standings.

Sundowns still lead the log table

The reality is that Sundowns are on top of the log, and they lead Pirates by three points, and the Buccaneers still need a win to topple them. If Pirates fail to get maximum points in their last two games, then Sundowns will be crowned champions.

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Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddau will do well to get this message across to his players and to make sure that it sticks in their heads going into their last two matches; otherwise, just like it happened to Chiefs, it will end in tears for them.

So, the message is clear to the Pirates players: get the job done first and celebrate later.