Goals from Evidence Makgopa and Patrick Maswanganyi sealed the win on a difficult night at Athlone Stadium as Pirates moved to within two points of table-topping Mamelodi Sundowns.
The Brazilians host Kaizer Chiefs on Wednesday night, when all of The Ghost will be wishing victory for Amakhosi, a rare event indeed.
Pirates wrote two pieces of history in the game that underline their excellent season, though whether it will be enough to be crowned champions for the first time since 2011/12 remains to be seen.
Most points for Pirates in a 30-game PSL season
Pirates set a new club record for the most points they have managed in a 30-game Betway Premiership season when they moved to 62.
That beats their previous top totals of 61 from the 2002/03 campaign, when they were league champions, and from last season, when they finished second behind Sundowns. In the latter campaign, there were only 28 games due to Royal AM’s mid-season demise.
With three very winnable games remaining, they could smash their own record yet end up empty-handed.
A total of 62 points would have been enough to lift the Betway Premiership title in 17 of the first 18 seasons since it was reduced to a 30-game league in 2002/03.
But since 2020/21, at least 65 points have been needed as Sundowns dominate the division.
If Pirates win their final three games against relegation-threatened sides Magesi FC and Orbit College, and Durban City, they will finish on 71 points. There is every chance they will do that.
That would have been enough for the league title in every 30-game season bar the last two, when Sundowns managed 73 points.
Clean-sheet record for Chaine
Sipho Chaine kept his 18th clean sheet of the Betway Premiership season against Stellenbosch, a new Pirates record, beating the mark set by Moeneeb Josephs in 2009/10.
That leaves him level with the current record-holder for the Betway Premiership, Sundowns’ Ronwen Williams, who managed 18 in the 2022/23 season.
With their run of fixtures to come, it looks most likely that Chaine will break that record and add at least one more.
Chaine has been beaten just 12 times in 27 games this league season, having played every minute for the Buccaneers.
Only Richards Bay and Marumo Gallants have managed to score more than one goal against Pirates in a game this campaign.
