Phunya Sele Sele were reduced to ten men on the stroke of half-time when their captain, Ndumiso Mabena, received a straight red for a reckless challenge.

Fortune Makaringe broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute for the only goal of the game.

Celtic coach, John Maduka, says that they created chances despite being a man down.

“I think when we were eleven versus eleven, we looked okay. We did compete until that moment that their one was taken out for a red card.

“Apart from that, in the second half, we were forced to change the way we had played. It's always difficult. Especially when you are playing against a quality team like Pirates and being one man down.

“In the second half, our plan worked. We managed to go even in the final third. Before they scored, we had a couple of chances. One of them was one-on-one with the goalkeeper. It was a lack of concentration and we got punished.

“The boys played and they gave their best. They worked so hard. The second half was much better even though we were down a man.”

Meanwhile, TS Galaxy handed Swallows their first league defeat of the season with a 1-0 win at the Mbombela Stadium.

@MorganPiek OFM Sport