Two substitutes came to the rescue for ten-man Orlando Pirates, who rallied from behind to claim a 3-2 win over Polokwane City at Orlando Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Looking to bounce back from the loss to Kaizer Chiefs before the international break, Gabadinho Mhango led the attack once again as Tshegofatso Mabasa and Augustine Mulenga had to settle for a spot on the bench while Justin Shonga was left out of the squad completely.
Both sides came into the fixture in shaky form, but it was Rise and Shine who broke the deadlock on 12 minutes as Charlton Mashumba lost his marker to head home a corner from Jabulani Maluleke.
Polokwane interim coach Bernard Molekwa was forced into a re-shuffle in the 25th minute, with Kenneth Nthatheni coming on for the injured Sibusiso Mbonani.
However, Pirates were handed a lifeline on 34 minutes after being awarded a penalty for a handball in the box. Mhango stepped up and made no mistake from 12-yards out to restore parity for the home side.
The half ended on a sour note for both sides as Thembinkosi Lorch and Puleng Tlolane were both sent off in the final five minutes for an off-the-ball incident.
With Pirates pushing for the win, coach Rhulani Mokwena surprisingly took off the influential Mhango for Kabelo Dlamini while Mabasa took the place of Xola Mlambo just before the hour mark.
The changes, however, proved fruitful for Mokwena as Mabasa put the Buccaneers ahead on 65 minutes with a neat finish from six-yards out to take his tally to six league goals for the season, while Dlamini was also involved in the build-up to the goal.
The Soweto giants managed to bag the third goal in the 76th minute when Dlamini showed quick feet in the box to fire into the bottom corner for his first goal for the Soweto giants.
Mvelase did pull a goal back for Rise and Shine on 90 minutes, but Pirates were able to hold on and claim three points, which sees the side jump up to the sixth spot.
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