Orlando Pirates fans will be concerned after their side suffered a second successive league defeat to start the 2025/26 Betway Premiership season, going down 2-1 to Marumo Gallants on Tuesday evening.
It is only the second time in the Premier Soccer League era – now in its 29th season – that the Buccaneers have failed to collect a single point from their opening two matches. The last time they endured such a start was back in 2007/08.
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The Soweto giants were beaten 1-0 by Sekhukhune United in their first league game at Orlando Stadium on Saturday before Tuesday’s loss to Gallants at the Dr Molemela Stadium, despite taking the lead through Patrick Maswanganyi.
History Made For The Wrong Reasons
A look at the club’s past league starts shows how unusual this situation is. Even in seasons where they’ve struggled for consistency, Pirates usually managed to get off the mark early. Their previous worst starts came in 2007/08, when they also had 0 points after two rounds, and in 2008/09, when they collected just one point.
Here’s how Pirates fared in their first two league games in each PSL season:
1996/97: 3 points
1997/98: 3 points
1998/99: 4 points
1999/00: 1 point
2000/01: 6 points
2001/02: 3 points
2002/03: 6 points
2003/04: 4 points
2004/05: 4 points
2005/06: 6 points
2006/07: 4 points
2007/08: 0 points
2008/09: 1 point
2009/10: 4 points
2010/11: 4 points
2011/12: 6 points
2012/13: 3 points
2013/14: 3 points
2014/15: 1 point
2015/16: 3 points
2016/17: 6 points
2017/18: 4 points
2018/19: 4 points
2019/20: 3 points
2020/21: 2 points
2021/22: 2 points
2022/23: 4 points
2023/24: 3 points
2024/25: 6 points
2025/26: 0 points
Early Pressure On Ouaddou
New coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has already come under the spotlight after making a number of changes between the first two matches, but the adjustments have yet to yield results.
The Buccaneers sit 14th on the Betway Premiership log after two rounds, and should Stellenbosch FC and TS Galaxy win their respective games this evening, Pirates could find themselves bottom of the standings by the end of the week.
Next up is a massive clash in cup competition as Pirates host Mamelodi Sundowns in the first leg of the MTN8 semi-finals this Saturday at a sold-out Orlando Stadium.
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The Buccaneers will then return to league action with two important fixtures – Stellenbosch FC at home, followed by another Orlando clash against Orbit College, before travelling to Chippa United.
With the season still young, there is time to recover – but history shows that slow starts in the league can be costly when the title race heats up.
