Orlando Pirates winger Oswin Appollis praised the efforts of his team after they secured an important victory over Richards Bay to keep the pressure on Mamelodi Sundowns.

The Soweto giants claimed a 2-0 win over Richards Bay thanks to goals from Oswin Appollis and Evidence Makgopa at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto.

Pirates have now reclaimed top spot in the Betway Premiership standings, level on 47 points with Sundowns.

Appollis, who was named Man of the Match, stressed that the squad’s focus on improving their goal-scoring as they continue their campaign in the Betway Premiership.

“It’s very important to get the three points and I’m very happy with the team performance,” Appollis said.

“Overall, I just want to give credit to the team for fighting.

“In the second-half we were a bit back, they came to us but we managed to deal with them defensively and then we managed to score the goal.

“As a team and as the coach told us, we must score more goals and that’s what we are trying to do.”