The Buccaneers fell behind to Vincent Pule’s first-half goal, and while Tshepang Moremi provided an equaliser, they could not go on and grab a winner.
It is part of a pattern in recent seasons in which Pirates have been largely unable to recover after conceding first.
They have fallen behind on 35 occasions in the league since the start of the 2022/23 season and have gone on to win only five of those matches, drawing six and losing a massive 24.
It means they have won just 14% of those games and lost almost 70%.
This season they have gone behind on five occasions and salvaged two draws to go with three defeats.
They managed to rescue a point against Siwelele on Saturday and in the 1-1 draw with Mamelodi Sundowns, when Cemran Dansin’s stunning equaliser cancelled out Peter Shalulile’s opener.
Their record last season was better, as they fell behind nine times but managed three wins and a draw to go with five defeats. But it is still not great.
In the 2023/24 season they went behind 11 times and won only one of those games, while it was similar in 2022/23 when they fell behind on 10 occasions and again won only once.
The five occasions on which they have managed to turn it around were against Cape Town City (2-1) in 2022/23, Soweto rivals Kaizer Chiefs (3-2) in 2023/24, and Chiefs again (2-1), Cape Town City again (2-1) and Chippa United (2-1), all in 2024/25.
It means they have only managed to come from behind and win against three clubs in four seasons.
And they failed again on Saturday against Siwelele, which is a blow to their championship hopes and allows Sundowns to seize the initiative in the title race.
Pirates lead by a single point over their rivals but have now played a game more. Sundowns host struggling Marumo Gallants on Tuesday.
