Zakhele Lepasa bagged a hat-trick to inspire Orlando Pirates to a comfortable 5-0 thrashing of Sekhukhune United to reach the semi-finals of the MTN8.

Lepasa opened the scoring for the Buccaneers in the 22nd minute when he was played through on goal by Patrick Maswanganyi.

The in-form striker got his name on the scoresheet again in the 56th minute after pouncing on Monnapule Saleng’s rebounded shot to find the back of the net.

Ndabayithethwa Ndlondlo added a third goal for Pirates three minutes later when he slotted the ball from with his deflected strike at goal.

Saleng made it 4-0 just after the hour mark before Lepasa completed his hat-trick in the 87th minute to put the game beyond Sekhukhune.

The Buccaneers held on to their comfortable lead until the final whistle to book their place in the semi-finals of the top-eight competition.

Photo by Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix