Chiefs striker Kabamba Musasa put Amakhosi 1-0 up in the 55th minute with his first league goal when he pounced onto a superb floater onto the penalty spot from Jabu Pule who danced rings around the Pirates defence on the

left.

Chiefs, sensing victory against the high-riding Buccaneers who came into the game with six league wins in seven outings, closed up at the back.

This gave Pirates the opening they had been prodding for and

Pirates' slick striker Lesley Manyathela gave the Chiefs fans a

heart-stopping moment in the 80th minute when he came close to equalising in a sensational manner.

Back-pedalling onto the edge of the box, he controlled a high

ball with his chest from midfield then became airborne with a

perfect bicycle kick that flew towards the top right hand corner,

but Chiefs keeper Brian Baloyi saved superbly.

Minutes later Pirates got their breakthrough when Benedict

Vilakazi was brought down by Patrick Mabedi on the edge of the small box in the 86th minute.

This time Baloyi, who was tigerish as Chiefs' last line of

defence, had no chance of the low drive from the penalty spot by Manyathela and Pirates held out to bring their record against Chiefs to 14 draws with 10 wins against the 23 victories enjoyed by Chiefs.

Chiefs defender Cyril Nzama had a chance to break the desperate deadlock in extra time when he cut through the Pirates defence, but he seemed to panic as keeper Michael Babale advanced and lost his chance to be hero of the day for Chiefs.

Then, unbelievably, Manyathela in a quick counter-attack, threw away a wide open chance to gain victory for Pirates with only Baloyi to beat, but hesitated and lost his chance with a weak attempt that was easily blocked by the on-form keeper.

With security and crowd-control well co-ordinated, the local

derby was a cracker that was handled tightly with balance and good humour by referee Jerome Damon, although he had to flash the yellow card six times - an admirable approach considering the pressure on him after the manner in which unruly Chief's bottle-throwing fans disrupted last Saturday's Coca-Cola Cup final in which Chiefs went down 1-0 to Jomo Cosmos.

Pirates had the best chances at goal in the first half. They

went onto the attack from a solid defensive line in the opening minutes when they penetrated the Chiefs defence with a quick through-ball, but Baloyi came sharply off his line to snatch the ball from Manyathela's feet.

The Chiefs keeper was kept on his toes by the marauding Pirates strikers. A tense moment for Chiefs was after Vilikazi was brought down by Fabian McCarthy on the edge of the box and Baloyi was quick to block the low 20 metre drive from Goodman Mazibuko that skimmed the Chiefs wall.

Chiefs counter-attacked when Kabamba Musasa chased hard after a loose ball deep into Pirates territory, but Babale covered ground inside his box quickly to have the ball well-covered, forcing the striker to leap over him.

Suddenly, within five minutes leading up to the half hour,

Chiefs swarmed into Pirates territory. A cleverly-placed header

from Nzama put Musasa into a space with only the keeper to beat, but he fumbled desperately. Babale then had to move like quicksilver to clear two corners from either side of the pitch - the second a Jabu Pule "pearler" that had danger written all over it.

Play became a touch heated in the leadup to half time and

referee Damon was quick to act against Pirates' Goodman Mazibuko for an over-the-top tackle on Patrick Matshitse. A minute later he whipped the yellow card at Chiefs' Josias Macamo for the same offence on Jimmy Tau.

Then Pule was yellow-carded for a borderline foul on Mbulelo

"Old Man" Mabizela. Just before the whistle Chiefs' Buti Sithole also went into the book. Supporters handled the bookings with loud protest and whistling, but controlled themselves well.

Tau was also booked in the second half when he brought down Tenashe Nengomashe who was a marauding force down the midfield left.

Nengomashe retaliated with a flying foul 15 minutes later that

resulted in the yellow card being flashed in his face.

Pirates came so close to gaining the lead on two occasions --

the first when Tau sent a cracker from 40 metres that had Baloyi clawing for air, but the ball just skimmed the cross bar.

Then Benedict Vilikazi struck from just inside the box with a

superb first-time volley in the air which forced Baloyi to be at

his feline best to save it.

Team: 4-5-1 - Brian Balayi, Cyril Nzama, Patrick Mabedi, Fabian McCarthy, Buti Sithole (Patrick Mbuthu 80), Thabo Mooki, Stanton Fredericks (Arthur Zwane 51), Jabu Pule, Tenashe Nengomashe, Jossias Macamo (David Radebe 46), Kabamba Musasa.